The Long Road
by Priestess of Groove
Summary: Mike, Harvey, and Donna all end up in a car accident on their way home from a Thanksgiving dinner.  In the aftermath, they must pick up the pieces and forge ahead or risk falling apart at the seams.  Harvey/Donna romantic.  Chapter 2 fixed!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

There was no screeching of tires before it hit. An almighty crunch sounded like a canon blast, followed quickly by the groaning and shrieks of the car's frame rending, twisting, and buckling under the impact. The airbags erupted and dust exploded into the air, making the surroundings hazy and dim. Then there was silence.

In the far distance, tires squealed as the cars behind them rushed to stop. A few shouts could be heard, but they were distant, hardly worth acknowledging. The only movement that could be seen were the drifting swirls of dust.

~+Suits+~

_A week and a half earlier_

"Good work," Harvey said and Mike could not keep from smiling proudly. "Now, get back to the rest of the file. You know what to do." The older lawyer only just glanced up when he put the file at the end of his desk, but it was immediately diverted to the report that he was reading earlier.

"Right," Mike replied. He snatched the file back up and proceeded out the door.

This was their routine and after five months of working together, their partnership was nothing less than a well-oiled machine. Harvey typically tended to the clients and Mike worked behind the scenes, seeing to it that Harvey kept his promises on winning. On big cases, Harvey split the work, usually handing Mike the larger portion, but always he had once a day status updates for Mike's research. And they were always in the morning to motivate Mike to get in on time, which became more difficult as the chilly weather set in. Every once in a while, Mike would hit jackpot and rush to share it immediately, which was what he was just departing from. So he was surprised when Donna changed the routine by walking in, shutting the door behind her, and standing directly in Mike's road.

He stopped and stared at her curiously. The thought of sidestepping her crossed his mind briefly, but a move like that was dangerous around Donna. So he said, "Hey, Donna. What's going on?"

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Mike?" Donna asked, with her arms crossed in front of her.

Mike blinked in surprise and turned to look back at Harvey; he was ignoring them both. Still trying to grasp this upset in his tempo, he finally came up with an answer, "Well, the nursing home usually puts on a dinner for all the folks who don't have family nearby. I usually go to that."

"Well, Mike, I know how much your gram means to you and you don't get to see her much," at this point, she gave Harvey a glare over Mike's shoulder. He turned as well and was baffled at his boss' failure to acknowledge a glare that powerful. He turned back when Donna started speaking again. "However, you are invited to come with Harvey and me to my parents' house for Thanksgiving."

"Your parents' house?" Mike asked, unable to keep his eyes from widening in surprise. How scary would Donna's mother be?

"What? It's not like you're going as my boyfriend," Donna replied with a huff.

"It's not that bad, kid," Harvey finally spoke up and Mike rounded on him.

You've met Donna's parents?" Mike studied Harvey's face to see if he could glean any information from him, but, like always, the older lawyer's face was schooled into perfect neutrality.

"Several times," Harvey replied and he returned to the report again.

"Well, uh...gee...I-I don't know, Donna."

"Listen, why don't you think it over? Talk to your gram if you need to. It's just an offer I thought I'd put on the table. If you can't go , that's fine," Donna said, placing a hand gently on his arm.

"Hmm...did your parents actually invite me?"

He was surprised when Donna rolled her eyes and said, "Well, according to my mom, I should bring somebody and since I never seem to have a boyfriend around this time of year, I should bring cowokers instead."

Mike had to stifle a laugh since he was fairly certain she was directly quoting her mother. Instead, he nodded and said, "I'll think about it."

She smiled. "Great! Good luck on your case, though I know you won't need it." She glanced back at them with a knowing smile as she returned to her desk.

"Damn right," Harvey said to her as he made a notation in the report.

~+Suits+~

"Something's on your mind, Michael. I can tell. Is this why you're here?" His grammy asked with a kindly smile, but there was a shrewd look in her eyes. In the next instant she killed his knight with a bishop.

Mike felt himself flush to his ear tips. He was really hoping to not give the impression that he was visiting for that reason alone. However, his grammy could read people as well as Donna and when he thought about it, he wondered briefly if she'd been just as shrewd a secretary sometime in her life. It was Friday evening after work and he and Harvey had just settled their big case for the week. Now it was promised clear sailing from now until Thanksgiving, which Harvey actually guaranteed him that work would be minimal. It would be nice to sleep in his own bed the whole work week.

Instead of calling his grandmother and talking to her over the phone, he decided a visit was in store, despite the fact that he had visited her last weekend as well. Up to now, they're conversation had consisted of mostly Mike telling her about his and Harvey's most recent case, all the while censoring anything too technical to avoid boring his grandmother to tears. They were in a rather even match of chess but though Mike was good, he looked at the field and saw his grandmother slowly inching in on his territory. She hated when he went easy on her so he would have to find a way to remedy that.

Mike exhaled slowly and grinned at his grandmother. "There's not getting anything past you, is there?"

"You've known me this long and you would think otherwise? You don't give me enough credit," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Now, tell me, what is it you wanted to ask me? You're still able to pay your bills, right?"

His eyes flew open and he raised his hand to stop her flood of concern, "No no no, I'm fine. The bills are fine. My pay's still good and Harvey's still one of the hardest bosses I've ever worked for. Everything's perfectly normal. I'm here because…" He stopped for a moment to appropriately phrase what Donna had told him, but he took the opportunity to knock off another pawn. "I wanted to ask, well, Donna, you know Donna, she asked me if I wanted to go to her parents' house for Thanksgiving."

Gram immediately brightened and she smiled. "That's wonderful, Michael. You should go!"

"But," Mike stammered, completely thrown off by her response. "I thought I should stay around here. I-I haven't been able to see you lately," and here his face drooped in guilt but he raised his head to meet his grandmother's eyes, "and I really should visit with you."

"Michael, sweetie, I'm old. I appreciate you working to pay the bills and I love when you visit, but you're a young person! You should be spending time with people your age! Go with them! I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Harvey and Donna aren't really my age," Mike replied, with an amused grin and wondered not for the first time just how old either of them was. Not that he would ever ask.

"They're still closer to your age than mine," Gram replied with a bark of a laugh. "You've told me so much about these two. When am I going to meet them?"

"I-I don't know, Grammy, they're pretty busy people."

"Well, you tell Mr. Specter that I wish to see him. Arrange it for after Thanksgiving when you're not so busy. If I know anything from what you've told me, he won't say no."

"Are you sure? Because I imagine he'll either say flat out no or he'll do his best to either dodge out of it or clutter up his schedule."

That shrewd smile was back on his grammy's face. "I know." Then with a triumphant grin she took his Queen off the chess table and he stared in shock. How the hell did he let that slip past him?


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTICE: I discovered that Chapter 1 somehow became Chapter 2 as well. That was my fault! I was making edits to Chapter 2 and apparently I loaded up Chapter 1 in its place. =( My apologies!  
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**-Thank you, Prickeley Pear, for informing me!  
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**Author's Note: **Wow, thank you all so much for the feedback! I hope you continue to enjoy the story as I go.

Chocolate-colombo - It's piqued. ^_~ I hope you continue to remain piqued.

**I do not own Suits.**

**Chapter 2**

Mike nervously stood in front of the mirror and tired to smooth his hair again and then he stood back and evaluated himself. The sweater he was wearing was a deep blue and he had decided upon a darker shade of Khaki, hoping it would not look too cheap. Out of habit of being Harvey's associate, he now felt more self-conscious than ever around dressing to look nice even if his piddling paycheck couldn't afford it. Not for the first time he wondered how wealthy Donna's parents were and hoped that, given they were small town people, that they were likely modest and casual. Harvey would stick out like a sore thumb.

He had slapped his alarm off at five that morning to get ready for the trip that day. Donna had relayed to him the plan the day before: "My parents live around the Philadelphia area, so it will be a few hours. We're heading their Thursday morning, dinner is at one, and then we'll leave Friday. You don't have to wear a suit, but look nice. Khakis and a sweater will do," she said, without even looking up from her computer monitor.

Harvey came out at that moment, holding a file open in his hands, but he glanced up and said, "I'll be picking you and Donna up around seven. You better be ready or I'm leaving without you. We need to beat the parade traffic, but thankfully we'll be going out when almost everyone will be coming into New York."

At that very moment, he was packing his messenger bag with a pair of jeans, a pullover, his comb, toothbrush, a book on law, and his iPod. His ventures out of the city were minimal at best, but his past experience found that long trips bored him to tears. However, when he glanced at the clock and saw 6:30 glaring at him, a yawn seemed to force its way out of him. Left blinking blearily in the aftermath, he thought, _Well, __maybe __I'll __be__ able __to__ sleep __in__ the __car_. He wondered for a moment if Harvey was the type to make a rule like 'If I can't sleep no one can!' He might, Mike acknowledged, but Donna would be there and God help the poor man who might infringe upon her beauty sleep.

He was just thinking about making himself a pot of coffee when his phone rang. He quirked an eyebrow at it curiously, noticed it was Harvey and answered, "It's definitely not seven in this part of the city."

"Good, you're awake," Harvey's sounded over the phone, sounding smooth and alert as always. "We're heading over now. Be outside in fifteen."

"Aye aye, Captain," Mike replied and then he hung up his phone and scowled at it. It was only just 6:35. Once he was done cursing Harvey in two different languages for coming just when he was going to make coffee, he decided to to sit on the couch and plug his ear buds in. At ten minutes til he grabbed his messenger bag, jacket, and headed downstairs to wait for Harvey.

The morning had dawned a steely gray overcast, clearly threatening rain and Mike's breath condensed in clouds in front of and it wasn't for the first time Mike sincerely wished he could afford an actual winter coat rather than the crappy one he had now. It was just that moment when a flash of headlights happened to catch his attention and a black car rounded the corner and sped down the road before screeching to a halt in front of him. Mike gaped at the car.

"Want your bag in the trunk or with you?"

Mike peered in through the window at Harvey on the other side of the car, pausing a moment to smile at Donna. "Seriously, the mustang?"

He only got a glare in return.

"I'll keep my bag."

"Then get in already!"

Mike obediently opened the door and slid in behind Donna. They sped off before Mike had even closed the door. "Wow, here I was thinking you were more relaxed outside the office."

Harvey was still glaring at him moodily through the rear view mirror, and then he sighed heavily and said, "It's too damn early, kid."

"So does this mean that we're stopping coffee?"

"Yes," Donna replied, sounding surprisingly chipper. "As soon as we get out of the city."

"Oh good," Mike said. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the seat, hoping to sleep the time between the present and coffee away.

"Don't get that excited, kid. We're getting it from McDonalds," Harvey said, speaking the restaurant's name like a curse.

"I don't care where it's from," Mike replied, "as long as it's coffee. And it's hot."

Harvey couldn't keep from snorting with laughter as he pulled the car to a stop at a stop light. "Well then, we may have to find somewhere else to get hot coffee."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember the suit: Liebeck vs. McDonalds. I can't believe the jury sided with that stupid woman.*"

"That's what society is for: to keep the human race prosperous, no matter how unfit they'd be for evolutionary standards," Harvey replied and he glanced at Donna with an amused smile for some reason. She noticed and raised her eyebrows at him in question, but he didn't say anything and she went back to her crossword puzzle. Mike watched in the rear view mirror as the smile morphed into a frown and Harvey glanced up at him in the mirror again. "By the way, why the hell can't you be on time to when you can make this? It's a whole hour earlier!"

"Because - quite frankly, Harvey - you're not nearly as scary as Donna," Mike replied and he smirked at the fresh indignation on his boss' face.

"Thank you, Mike!" She turned to beam a smile back at him.

"You're welcome."

"You think Donna's scarier than me? I control the fate of your career!"

"Let's face it, Harvey, unless he does something drastically stupid, you're never going to fire him."

The associate's grin grew wide at this, but Harvey missed it in favor of turning his attention to Donna. "You of all people should know not to take me too lightly."

"Without a doubt, Harvey, your wrath is something to behold," Donna replied. "But I know you well enough to know that that famous rage is directed at certain types of people. He's not one of them."

Silence filled the car and Mike had to bite his lip to hide the better part of his grin. The best closer in the city had just been beaten at his own game by his secretary and everyone present knew that any arguments he could make in return would fall flat on their ears. So Harvey decided to take a slightly different road.

"I will promise you, though, Mike, that Donna's not half as scary as her reputation claims," Harvey said.

Donna smiled in mock sweetness at their boss. "You're allowed to think that, Harvey, but if you get pulled over by the cops for speeding, you'll see for yourself what my full wrath looks like."

"I'm going fifty! That idiot I just passed was going forty. Besides, it's not like there are any cops around," he replied.

"I just don't want to explain to my mom how you made us late by getting pulled over," Donna said. She paused thoughtfully and then asked, "Have I ever been angry enough to give you my full wrath?"

"Hmm..." The closer took a moment to think and then he suddenly laughed.

"What?"

"Five years ago. You were dating this guy, Brutus - "

"Bruce! That's right, damn you. You broke up our date!"

"He was a loser. I can't believe you went on one date with him, let alone five!"

"You mean he had a job that didn't pay as well as yours! He was stable, funny, understanding and – gasp! – he wasn't married to the job! He was the best of all my other prospective candidates. What were you doing at that restaurant anyway? That's a little low class for you, isn't it?"

"My date was pretty tipsy and she wanted food - "

Mike drifted off to the bickering, still smiling in amusement. He had attempted to keep up with the conversation - it wasn't everyday either Harvey or Donna spoke of their past, especially no their friendship - but the pleasant warmth from the Mustang's heater coupled with the early morning rise proved to be too powerful a sedative. They didn't realize he was asleep until they pulled into the McDonalds.

~+Suits+~

The rain that had been promised earlier that morning had finally set in and as pouring fat drops against the windshield and roof of the car. Mike was listening to his iPod and was watching the dead landscape pass by, appearing the picture of composed if not for his twiddling thumbs. They had reached the Philadelphia area. It would only be another forty minutes before they reached Donna's childhood home; his heart beat a little faster and his palms became slick with sweat.

Finally, he snatched the ear buds out and asked the one question burning in his mind the whole trip: "Donna, what are your parents like?"

She seemed to understand the underlying concern not voiced in his question. "Mike, don't worry. This isn't like a mock trial at the firm. Just be your usual charming self and my parents will love you."

"Are you honestly nervous, Mike?" Harvey asked. The associate noticed from even the partial view in the rear view mirror, he could see an amused and knowing glint in his eye.

Mike frowned. "I don't know why you're so enthused. I imagine you're number one on their shit list."

Harvey chuckled. "Are you kidding? Her mother loves me!"

Mike stared and then chuckles bubbled up, which he did not bother to stifle. "That's a joke, right? Because, for you, I'd say that's pretty good."

"Unfortunately, it's not, Mike. She does love him. It's almost rather sickening. Just the other day, my mother called me up and said - and I quote - "I'm so glad you and Harvey and that young man are coming up. Ask Harvey what kind of pie he'd like for dessert!"

"Hmmm..." Mike bit his lip and said, "It could be she's being a good hostess."

"Well, sure, Mike, but Harvey's been coming to our Thanksgivings once every two years for the last six years. He's graduated from guest to son by now."

"Donna's just jealous."

"Well, I am her legitimate daughter. She should be doting on me! She sees me about as often as she sees you!"

"Your mother told me she was eternally grateful for letting them borrow my condo that one time. You brought it on yourself!"

"You're right. I should have known better. I personally think you got her attention from that kicked puppy act."

"That was hardly kicked puppy. I was humble and charming."

"Wait, are we both using the same definition for humble? I guess it all evens out in the end; no one else in the family cares much for Harvey, especially my dad," Donna explained.

Mike exhaled loudly. "Whew! I think we just dodged the apocalypse there."

"Well, no one elses' opinion matters. Your mother still cooks the food and as long as she does, I will happily accept all invitations," Harvey replied. He glanced back at Mike and smirked at him. "She's an excellent cook, Mike."

"I should hope so! I can't wait now," Mike said though his happiness faltered for a moment. "The nursing home's food is only decent. Too bad my grammy couldn't come."

"I'm sure she's having fun, Mike," Donna said, glancing back at him with a reassuring smile. Then she looked at Harvey. "It irks you, though, that you can't get on my father's good side."

"Well, neither can you sister's husband, but he at least has a good reason for hating him. Besides, every time I meet your dad, I am always overwhelmed with the utter futility it would be to try, so I stopped caring."

"How many siblings do you have, Donna?" Mike suddenly interjected, trying not to get cut from the conversation again. Sometimes it felt like Harvey and Donna entered their own world when they bantered and bickered.

She jerked her head from staring at Harvey to back at Mike and she said, "I have just the one sister. She's a nurse, married, and has two kids."

"I suppose we can expect them to be there?" Harvey asked and Mike noticed that his tone had changed from amused to a dull neutral.

"Naturally," Donna replied.

Mike could sense a minefield under the surface and he decided that it would be unwise to tread any further in the direction of that conversation. It was Donna's family and her business after all. She was scary enough without earning her annoyance.

However, at that moment, he was saved from having to think of any subject as Harvey pulled up alongside the curb in front of a rather plain two-story suburban house. "We here then?"

"Yes. Remember to get your coffee cup out of my car. We're just going to leave our bags in here for now. We'll get them later tonight," Harvey said to him as he kicked open his door and then he stood out and stretched, not taking any notice of the rain.

Mike also climbed out and did the same routine. For the first time, he saw that Donna had dressed in a light blue cashmere sweater with gray pants and Harvey was in light khakis and a red sweater.

"I don't think I've ever seen you wear any other color outside of work. Color blind, Harvey?"

"I don't see why it matters to you," Harvey replied as he went to the trunk and opened it, and then pulled out a cardboard box with a bottle of white wine, Tupperware of Chex Mix, and a foil wrapped dish.

"Oh, what'd you guys make?" Mike asked.

"_I_ made an Apricot Jello and Chex Mix. Harvey went shopping."

"Harvey shops?"

"Very funny," Harvey said. The associate was certain his boss wanted to slap him upside the head, but as he was holding the box full of food, he settled for a sneer.

They trooped up to the front stoop, with Donna leading the way and she rang the doorbell. Mike shivered under the raindrops pelting on his head and now wished he had bothered to wear his winter coat, even if it was for less than a minute.

Mike was distracted by the turn of the knob and the black door swung open, revealing an older woman as skinny as Donna but with light blonde hair, the same eyes, and a surprisingly youthful looking face, with only a few lines. She broke into a wide smile and swept Donna up into a big hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"Donna! It's so good to see you! You look just wonderful! Harvey must be treating you well," she said and Mike could see her eyes dart to a point just over his shoulder. He could practically see Harvey roll his eyes.

"Would you expect any less, mom?" Donna asked sweetly. "I don't suppose Nicole is here yet, is she?"

"Oh no, not yet, honey, but she and her family will be here soon enough."

Then Donna moved on into the house and they heard her say, "Hi, dad!"

"You must be the new associate. I don't talk to Donna often, but she speaks very highly of you."

Mike felt a blush creeping up on his face and he held out his hand for her to shake. "Thank you, Mrs. Gallagher. I'm sure you've heard, but I'm Mike Ross."

"So nice to meet you, Mike. Just call me Mary."

"Okay. Thank you for inviting me over, Mrs. Galla- er...Mary."

"It was my pleasure, dear. Now, you go and enjoy yourself."

Mike slid past her, but he could not resist looking back to see Harvey's reception.

"Harvey!" The older lawyer virtually towered over Donna's mother, but he shifted the box to the side and bent over so that she could kiss his cheek.

"Mary, it's good to see you," Harvey said with a small smile but Mike could see the glint of humor in his eye.

"And you! I wish you kids would drop by more often. I only ever hear from you once a year."

"My apologies, but my job is very demanding. I wish I had more free time myself."

Mary stood back and planted her hands on her hips in a very fashion similar to Donna and she pointed her finger at Harvey and gave him a shrewd smile. "Now, you may be able to get that one over on your clients, but I know better! You've married your work. You need to go and marry a woman instead. It'll treat you better!"

Mike had to walk further into the house so he could hide his laughter, when he glanced over and saw Donna in living room, sitting next to a heavyset and bald older man. When the secretary saw him enter, she immediately stood up and said, "Dad, this is Harvey's new associate, Mike Ross!"

He stood up and Mike worked to school his face so that his eyes did not bug out in surprise that Donna's father stood a good five inches above him and he was only an inch or so shorter than Harvey. "Well, hello there, nice to meet you," the man said in a booming voice. "I hope you're keeping that Harvey on the straight and narrow."

"Dad!"

"Uhh...Harvey is...very law abiding," Mike replied as he tried to smile at the older man, but it was nervous. "It was nice to meet you, sir."

"Harvey," the older man acknowledged Harvey with a stern nod and a disapproving frown, as the older lawyer moved to the kitchen and slid the box onto the counter.

"Richard," Harvey replied from the counter as he picked up the foiled dish and set it in the fridge, and then he went over and pulled the bottle of wine out. "Would anyone like me to pour them a glass?"

"Harvey, it was so nice of you to bring us that wine. Why don't you save it for dinner? I can get you something else," Mary's mother said as she bustled into the kitchen.

"Are you treating my daughter, right?" Richard boomed. Mike had taken a seat in an armchair and he winced as he saw Donna put a hand to her forehead.

"Always, sir, always," Harvey replied, keeping both his voice and expression level.

"Richard, don't you start on that now! This is a time for family and celebration. Leave him be," Mary scolded and in the next instant she turned to Harvey. "Don't you pay any attention to him, dear. I have no doubts you treat our daughter well."

"It's all right, Mary, I can understand the concern when it comes to Donna," Harvey said to her, glancing over at Donna who shot him a look that said he most certainly better behave.

"I'm not certain anyone could treat her better." Mary patted him on the arm and then walked over to cabinet next to the refrigerator and opened it to reveal several bottles of wine, both red and white, and various other bottles Mike could not read from where he was.

"Hmm...may I have a little bit of that bourbon?"

Harvey glanced at Donna and Mike, who were both staring at him. When he noticed that Richard's attention was captured by the football game on the TV he grimaced at the both of them. Mike gave him a look of sympathy, but also of amusement. Harvey's look had said it all: he was going to drink. A lot.

* * *

><p><strong>Dreadful inlaws is so overused; I thought I'd shake it up a little. ^_~<strong>

***Liebick vs. McDonalds - This was an actual case brought against McDonalds about their coffee being too hot. The woman picked it up and spilled it in her lap while she was driving and received 3rd degree burns. She was awarded several hundred thousand dollars for her pain and suffering. Considered by many to be the start of an era of frivolous lawsuits.  
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**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Feedback is always appreciated! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans!  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: Thank you, everyone, for your reviews and alerts! I'm glad to see so many liking this story. Here are 20 pages for you to enjoy! I thought it would be best to get Thanksgiving Day completely out of the way in one chapter, so here you go! Enjoy!**

**I do not own Suits.  
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**Chapter 3**

Once they had sat down with their glasses of wine and bourbon, the conversation diminished in the tense atmosphere that Donna's father refused to defuse as he continued to frown tersely at the closer. Harvey was paying him little attention as he watched the Steeler's face the Colts, but he was not an involved fan. Donna and her mother chatted loudly to try and involve everyone, but Mike was afraid Richard might bite his head off.

The associate was taking cautious sips of his bourbon, trying to keep from wincing as the strong alcohol slid down his throat and contemplating what Harvey could have done to get such a frosty reception. It was not like Harvey and Donna were dating. He had wondered about that, but the interactions, while much like good friends, were strictly professional. Whenever Harvey was in Mike's presence, he in fact paid very little attention to Donna.

Mike's eyes wandered around the room as though he were searching for an answer and he found a family portrait clearly featuring a teenage Donna. It took some effort to keep from snorting his bourbon as he studied it. Even as young as she was, which he estimated as thirteen or so, she had that cunning and knowing smile on her face but there seemed to be a bit more true innocence to her that had morphed into adult cynicism. Still, she was quite lovely. She was the only one with bright red hair, he noted. Only her mother had a touch of ginger, but otherwise it was blonde. Her sister, Nicole, looked a couple years older with chestnut brown hair. As his eyes fell on Richard, Mike briefly wondered if he had ever had hair.

"Richard!"

Mike jumped and nearly spilled his bourbon down his front and focused on the people in front of him.

"What?" Richard barked back at Mary who was glaring at him. Donna was also shooting a glare at her father as well and Mike could see Richard's defenses crumbling under the onslaught.

"You are being a terrible host! Harvey has never done a thing to you! Or our daughter for that matter. You can be civil for one day," Mary said, getting to her feet which somehow made her glare and the words that came with them all the more potent.

"He doesn't have to visit with me if he'd prefer not to," Harvey said, ever the picture of calm as he continued sipping his bourbon like a king at court.

Mary frowned at him and Mike could see Harvey's lips curling up in the barest of smiles.

"No, Harvey, this is ridiculous. You deserve better after all you've done for Donna," she said as she gently touched Donna's shoulder and the redhead smiled up at her. "Now, I'm going to check on the turkey and mashed potatoes. When I get back, I better hear friendly conversation."

"I'll help you, mom."

Silence filled the vacuum the women left and all three men stared at each other as though daring the other to start a conversation.

Harvey dared. "Mr. Gallagher, how are you finding retirement?"

The old man sat back in the couch, still frowning down his nose at Harvey but, to Mike's surprise, spoke in a relaxed voice very different from the boom and growl earlier. "It's...quiet. A little too quiet. I'm considering finding part time work to keep busy. Mary still insists on working at JC Penny, so we don't really have the opportunity to travel yet."

Harvey nodded and set his now empty glass down on the table in between his and Mike's chairs. "Any idea where you'd like to visit?"

"London, Sydney. Mary wants to go to Paris, of course. Donna got to study in Salzburg and after she told us how beautiful it was, we've been wanting to visit. From there we might just take a tour of Europe."

"Sounds exciting," Harvey replied. "I don't often have the opportunity to travel, but when I do it's usually on business and I can't actually do anything interesting."

"You could take a vacation if you wanted to, Harvey," Mike said to him with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Harvey suddenly brightened. "So, you're telling me you wouldn't mind me being gone for a week while you do work for Louis?"

Mike's smile faltered and he pinched his face into a pained wince. _Oh, __right, __that __is __an __unfortunate __side__ effect __of __Harvey __being__ gone._ Harvey chuckled at his reaction and he answered, "You know, you're right - for once - feel free to work every day of work we have. Ever."

"That's what I thought," Harvey replied.

"So, how did a nice young fella lie you get wrapped up with...him?" Richard asked, gesturing toward Harvey. He was fighting the sneer that was threatening to cross his face.

Mike sincerely hoped he did not look like a deer in headlights. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out as he thought on what to say. _Oh,__ Harvey __saved__ me__ from __the__ police __who __were __looking __for __my __pot._ He had a feeling that Harvey would quickly switch back to being Mr. Perfect again, if he ever was.

Harvey finally saved him from thinking up a believable lie. "He was the only Harvard graduate who impressed me. He may not be very articulate but he's one of the hardest workers I've met at the firm.

The associate drew his mouth into a strained smile and nodded. He probably did deserve that, since Harvey had to pick up the slack. That was probably not going to be the last time someone asked him that question, and he filed away Harvey's vague but mostly truthful response for future reference.

Richard was getting ready to ask something else when another voice cut in.

"Well, I'm glad you boys are finally acting like adults, even if the topic is about work," she said and she shot Harvey an accusing look.

He brought his hands up in an innocence gesture. Donna shook her head and said, "Harvey, would you help me get out the bags? I'd rather not search the car for them in the dark." She gave him a pointed look.

Harvey smiled. "Probably a good idea. Mike, I'm putting your bag in Donna's room."

Mike nodded, working very hard to keep from scowling.

He may not have been working with either of them for long, but even he still understood the message in that expression. She was finding an excuse to talk to Harvey alone. Without him. _What__ could __they__ possibly __talk __about __that __required __me__ to__ be __excluded?_ Mike thought as he watched them disappear down the hallway.

"So - Mike, was it? - do you like working in a law firm?" Richard finally asked, jolting Mike from his reverie.

He turned back and smiled. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, it's very challenging work, but I do love it. I can't see myself doing anything else."

Donna inhaled a deep breath and exhaled loudly once the front door closed. They strolled down the front path to the mustang. It was still raining, but lightly and they took their time reaching the car.

Before Harvey had managed to open the trunk, Donna spoke up, "Ever year, before the holidays, I always wonder why I don't visit my family more often. Then I come and realize why."

Harvey grimaced at her and offered, "Maybe I shouldn't come along then? It would make your family events more pleasant."

"But then I wouldn't have a pillar of a sanity and reason to keep me grounded."

"You have your mom."

"Yes, she's great, but she can be a little overbearing. Sorry, Harvey, but you're a permanent fixture now."

"Well, I won't complain as long as your mom keeps up her excellent cooking," Harvey replied, handing her a small duffel bag.

"I don't know why my dad is being such a pain in the ass. He used to be a little more civil."

"Well, did you tell your parents anything bad about me?"

"They already know that you've slept with every rich woman in the city," Donna replied sweetly and Harvey sighed in exasperation as he pulled out his backpack. "And...oh."

"What?"

"I may have called my mom up crying when you threatened to fire me."

Harvey grimaced and immediately felt his stomach roil and bile in his throat at the unpleasant memory. "That would do it. Listen..."

"Stop right there," Donna said, pointing a finger at him with the door open to the backseat. "You've already apologized once. We don't need to rehash this again. So just drop it."

"I'll take my punishment like a good boy," Harvey replied, with a contrite bow of his head.

"That was three months ago! But I would appreciate it if you could remain the gentleman. God knows it won't be my father," Donna said with a troubled frown as she finally reached in to pull out Mike's messenger bag.

"Or Seth."

"Can he rightly be called a man?" Donna asked with a dark tone and frown. Her frown turned puzzled when Harvey suddenly smiled, but dread started to build in her stomach when he waved at something behind her.

"You might want to start policing those comments, because your sister is here with her husband."

She grinned as an old, red volvo pulled into the driveway. "They're not staying overnight at least."

When Mike heard the door open again, he was instantly curious that he could hear more than just Harvey and Donna's voices.

"It's so nice to see you!"

"And you, Donna, you always look nice. You're looking quite handsome as always, Harvey."

"Why thank you. I hope you and Seth are doing well."

"We're doing just fine!" Mike's eyebrows shot up at the complete indignation and defensiveness in that voice. It must be Nicole's husband, Seth.

"Yes, he actually was awarded a bonus for the holiday.

"That's good to hear." Even from the living room, Mike thought Harvey's voice sounded flat and insincere.

"Aunt Donna! Aunt Donna!"

"Hey, kids. I have some cards for y - Thank you, Harvey. If I wasn't mistaken, I think that move was very much like me."

"You're not the only with killer anticipatory skills. Need anything else?"

"Nope."

There was a steady thump as Harvey went upstairs to drop their bags off in the guest room, and then a herd of feet were coming down the hallway before Mike recognized the woman as Donna's sister and two dark-haired kids, younger than thirteen at the least were trooping in behind them already tearing open the cards Donna had given them. Behind them was a scrawny man with wire frame glasses, shuffling along at a slouch.

"Wow! Thank you, Aunt Donna!" The little girl said as she stared up at Donna and hugged her.

"Yes! Thank you," the boy said right behind her and also threw his arms around Donna.

"You're welcome! Try not to spend it all at once."

"Why did you bring him here? You haven't married him still, have you?" Seth asked Donna. Mike could see that he was trying to be neutral but there was an undertone of bitterness to his voice.

"Why would I marry him? He's my friend! And he was going to spend Thanksgiving by himself otherwise. And speaking of friends...Mike!"

The associate obediently got to his feet and walked over to be scrutinized by Seth, who looked him up and down and snorted. "Who's he? Harvey's illegitimate son?"

Mike felt his ears flush red and he, for once, decided to speak up for himself, "No, I'm Harvey's associate! My name is Mike Ross."

"Seth Kemper," the man replied. "Programmer. I write all the software you lawyer types use and who makes less money? Yeah, me."

"I would love to see you try and do either Harvey's or Mike's job," Donna said. She crossed her arms and stood up a little straighter so even she stood two inches above him. "Now, I don't care what the hell you do while you're here, but you will treat my friends better than you treat your own wife."

Just like many of the tougher sounding associates at the firm, Mike saw Seth shrink back and draw his head in as though he were a turtle trying to hide. Then he slunk off and both of them watched him join the rest of his family in the kitchen.

"Pleasant, isn't he?" Donna asked in a low voice.

Mike only stared after the man. "I thought Harvey was a jackass when I first met him, but this guy..."

"He used to be all right. Not my favorite person, but once Harvey started coming to Thanksgiving, he developed the worst ego complex and self esteem issues. It's best to just ignore him," Donna said

Harvey suddenly appeared around the corner from the stairs and he noticed them standing together and he smirked. "Meet Seth the ass?"

Donna glared at him. "Don't sink to his level! You're better than that. By the way, he called Mike your illegitimate son."

The older lawyer raised his eyebrows at that. "What an idiot. We look nothing alike."

"Donna! Harvey," Mary called to them from the kitchen and they finally left the hallway to join her. "There you are. What are you three doing hiding in the hallway? Want to play dominoes?"

"Of course, mom."

"Nicole, why don't you ask the kids if they'd like to play?"

"Sure, mom," Donna's sister disappeared through another hallway in the kitchen.

"How about you, Seth? You want to play?" Mike noticed that even Mary seemed to have a forced cheerfulness when she turned to the man, who had remained skulking in the kitchen but with a beer. He turned to them all seated at the table.

"I don't think so."

"Suit yourself," Mary replied, going about setting up the game.

"He's just afraid of having his ass handed to him by Donna," Harvey said with a smirk.

"Is that something you have experience with?" Seth shot back.

"Donna hands my ass to me every day," Harvey replied.

"Damn right. Someone's gotta keep you in line."

"I think Harvey's trying to tell us he's whipped," Mike said with a triumphant grin.

"I'm whipped? What does that make you then? You do everything Donna asks out of fear!"

"A slave," Donna interjected as she picked out her dominoes. "Sorry, Mike, but Harvey does have a backbone at least."

"Uhh...I'll concede that. It's the best way to keep on your good side."

"He is a smart boy," Donna said.

"Donna, you shouldn't scare the poor boy. He seems like a nice young man. Do you really need to threaten him?"

"I don't threaten him, mom. He learned by the example I made of his colleagues," Donna replied.

As they had talked among themselves, Seth had disappeared from the kitchen into the living room where Richard was continuing to watch the football game. Nicole returned to the table and slid into the open seat next to Harvey. "The kids are too busy playing with the Wii."

"Well, let's get started then," Mary said.

Mike couldn't help but be gleeful while they played. Harvey, he discovered, had the worst luck of anyone at the table. He could never seem to get rid of his pieces, even as Donna and Nicole competed with who could get rid of them the fastest.

"I don't have any good numbers, damn it," Harvey said scowling at his pile of dominoes he was hiding behind his hands.

"So draw another one," Donna said, knowing full well that Harvey already had a dozen dominoes he couldn't find homes for. She would have to keep her eye on Mike; he only had six. Her mother still had nine or so, but her sister had only two. She would have to watch her.

"Well, here's a piece that goes there," Mike said, tossing one of his pieces to Harvey to put on his train.

Harvey did so with a scowl. "I don't need it, Mike!"

"What makes you think I'm helping you?"

"If you don't want the hardest tasks for the first case we get on Monday…."

"Ah ah ah, Harvey. You're not allowed to threaten the associate with work over the holiday. I won't allow it. While you're at it, put my piece over there," Donna said as she also tossed her piece to Harvey and then held her hands up in victory.

"Damn it. I knew this was going to happen. Give me poker and I'll wipe you all clean," Harvey declared, though he seemed to be fighting a smile.

"That's later tonight, Harvey."

"Then I'll save my win streak for then."

Mike groaned. "Aw, no, Donna, I can't do poker. Harvey will wipe me out."

"Well then, it's a good thing we won't be playing for actual money," Donna said and Mike's expression immediately morphed into one of relief.

"That's weak," Harvey said.

"No, it's not, Harvey. There's no need to play for each other's money. It's Thanksgiving," Mary said to him, with a rather stern look, but he only shrugged at her.

"So, Harvey, how much have you won at once while playing poker?" Nicole asked.

"Five hundred dollars is the most I've taken away," he said with a frown. "There are times that I would like to go to Vegas and try my hand at it. I would win a lot more there," Harvey said with a wistful look. It turned into a scowl as he flipped over his dominoes.

"Man, Harvey, and you thought I needed work on my poker face," Mike said.

"If we were actually playing for money, I'd dare you to figure out what I was thinking."

The next game, Mike actually dominated the table. All the pieces just seemed to fall in the right places for him and it only pleased him more when most of them seemed to piggyback all of Harvey's pieces.

"The kid beat you, Donna!"

"Unheard of," the secretary said with a dangerous gleam in her eye. For once, Mike was not cowed, but merely smiled proudly at his accomplishment.

"It's about time someone else won," Nicole said as she gamely pushed her dominoes back in the center of the table.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Harvey said and he disappeared from the room. He noticed the light on and the door closed to the bathroom on the first floor and then remembered that one of Nicole's kids had slipped by them during the game. He sighed and ran upstairs to use the bathroom there. When he was done he opened the door and nearly ran straight into Nicole. She moved closer to lean against the door and block his way out.

Harvey did not bother disguising his annoyance. "I would like to get by please."

"Why haven't you married my sister?"

"What makes you think I'd marry at all?"

"Fine. Why aren't you sleeping with her?"

"Because that's not the kind of relationship she wants," he replied, deciding that allaying all of these assumptions the family had would be the best way to get out of this conversation.

"But you would like it, right?"

He chose to ignore that question and continued to stare at her with growing suspicion and narrowing eyes. "What do you want?"

"What if it's the kind of relationship I want?"

He barked a quiet laugh. "No."

"Why not? It's not like you're seeing my sister."

"Doesn't mean your sister wouldn't be pissed. And your parents – I'm sure that would go over well with them too," he said with so much sarcasm in his voice, he could practically taste it.

"Mom loves you, Harvey. You already win out over Seth," she replied and then she lunged to give him a kiss. She barely managed to touch his upper lip after he recoiled and then he forcefully grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her into the wall, keeping her at arm's length and he glared at her.

"I wouldn't dare do that again. Just because your husband stooped to adultery, doesn't mean that you should too. You can divorce him for everything he has. Why _haven__'__t_ you divorced him yet? I know Donna has recommended you to do it every year."

"Because he's still the father of my children," she replied and he could see tears prickling her eyes.

"That's a bullshit reason," Harvey said, starting to walk over to the stairs. "You better stay away from me for the rest of Thanksgiving or I'll sick Donna on you."

"You would turn my own sister against me?"

"You've already incurred her wrath with this conversation," Harvey said, looking over his shoulder at her. "I just need to tell her now."

Nicole's eyes widened in an expression that was a mixture of terror and heartbreak and he did not relish it for a second like he might with any other woman. It was Donna's sister after all, but even giving the idea a brief thought left an awful aftertaste in his mouth. She was not Donna. He could not love her like he loved Donna and she would never treat him the way Donna treated him – like an equal. There were already plenty of sycophantic associates and impressed clients to stroke his ego and he did not count a single one of them as a friend, he didn't need to add a significant other to that list.

Before he entered the kitchen, he carefully smoothed his face into his usual mask.

"About time, Harvey," Donna said as he sat back in his chair. "Did you get lost on the way to the bathroom?"

"There's a certain amount of etiquette to follow, Donna, you know that," Harvey replied as lightheartedly as he could, but this caused her to look up at him. Mike and Mary were busy picking their pieces and as Harvey gestured with his head back to the hallway with a dark expression on his face. Just then, Nicole walked through, appearing more than just a little ruffled and she took her seat next to Harvey again. Donna could not help but notice the way he subtly moved his chair from her and she felt the first stirrings of real anger that she had not felt in a long time.

Suddenly she glanced at her the watch on her wrist and said, "Oh wow, it's 1 o'clock. Weren't we going to eat soon? Why don't I go ahead and start carving up the turkey?"

"Oh no, darling, I'll do it," Mary said but Donna put a hand on her arm to stop her from rising.

"Please, mom, I insist," she replied with a smile, but as soon as she turned away to face the kitchen her let her mask drop to the furious scowl. Once she had pulled the turkey out of the oven and grabbed the sharpest knife she could, she stabbed at it with more force than was necessary. Better to take it out her anger on a baked bird than her own sister.

~+Suits+~

Dinner was a surprisingly quiet affair. Harvey sat in the middle on one side of the table, Mike on his right and Donna on his left. Nicole and her family shared the other side of the table and the parents bookended everybody. Harvey couldn't help but notice that Donna was stabbing her turkey with a little more force than was necessary and he carefully nudged her under the table with a toe to try and get his message across. She did relent and did her best to quell her anger for the day, at the very least, but it was hardly helped by her sister who broke the silence.

"So, Donna, how is work?"

"Same as always. I have to deal with pushy and finicky rich clients, smarmy lawyers, and stupid associates who don't appear to know how to use a copier."

"Hey, those copiers are stubborn beasts," Mike said, pointing at her with his knife.

"You just have to have the right touch, Mike. A woman's touch."

Harvey couldn't help but snort with laughter at that and Mike rolled his eyes. "Well then, I guess I'll never learn to use the copier. Mm…I love your gravy, Mrs. Gallagher."

"It's Mary, Mike, and thank you."

"Yes, this is very good," Harvey added, carefully eating everything one at a time that he had put on his plate.

Silence fell again when Donna decided to break it. "How is your work, Nicole? Keeping busy at the hospital?"

There was a certain bite to the question and Donna noticed Nicole's eyes switch momentarily to Harvey before they went back to her sister. Her expression momentarily pinched into a grimace, before she forced a smile on her face. "My job is fine. Working at the hospital is always fun because you never have the same day twice."

"Sounds very stimulating. I should think you wouldn't have to worry about looking for much entertainment elsewhere." Harvey, this time, nudged her a bit more insistently with his knee.

"The trick is finding the free time. It's a little hard to when you have two kids, one of them in hockey and the other in soccer," Nicole replied, trying to steer the conversation in a more positive direction. "Isn't that right, honey?"

Seth didn't even say anything, but continued eating his meal as if no one else existed at the table.

"Rachel, why don't you tell your aunt how well your soccer team did this year?"

"We rocked, Aunt Donna. Our team did so well – "

For the rest of the meal, they were regaled to boredom about the merits of the Youth Girls Soccer Teams and the Youth Boys Hockey Teams. At one point Harvey gave her a look that clearly said, _This__ makes __up__ for __all __the__ times __I__ talked __law__ at __the__ table!_ At some point, the kids switched the topic over to video games, and Mike eagerly jumped in to talk recent games, particularly on the Wii, and the dinner finally ended with him and the two kids crowing about how they were going to beat the other in Wii Bowling and Mario Kart Wii.

"Think the kids should have been removed to their own table," Harvey quietly grumped at her as they started taking their plates out to kitchen to be cleaned.

She smirked at him over her shoulder. "At least they prevented me from starting a bitch fight with my sister and making this a memorable Thanksgiving."

Harvey mock shuddered in her horror and she couldn't keep from giggling. "I'll clean up," he suddenly offered.

She looked at him askance. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Nope," he replied, even as he grimaced at the foot high stack of dishes in front of him, and those were only the dinner plates. "I just realized that my only other option for entertainment is to either sit with your father and Seth, or go in and watch the kiddies fool around with Wiimotes. I choose dishes."

Donna giggled and said, "Well, then, I'll ease your suffering by helping you."

~+Suits+~

Evening set in quietly. Once the dishes were done and Harvey and Donna had rejoined the family out in the living room, Nicole made a surprisingly quick escape before night set in, claiming they had made a commitment elsewhere for the night. When Donna gave her a goodbye hug, Harvey was certain she was about to break her sister's spine with the amount of pressure she used, but they managed to separate without so much as throwing a punch. He was on hand to make sure it didn't come to that.

Not a single one of them even pretended to enjoy Seth's company and he stayed over by the front door with his hands in his pockets like a sullen teenager. And then they were gone.

"Hey, Harvey, I think I can beat you in Wii Bowling," Mike said

"If that's all you can hold over my head, I'm content with that."

"Mike, I am the master of Wii Bowling. You can't beat me," Donna said.

"Is that a challenge?"

"I think it is! Just try me, puppy."

"Mary, do you want to play?"

"Oh no, you kids have fun!"

"All right, let's go."

Donna beat them both, but then Harvey did not put much effort into actually winning anyway. Mike tried and he still failed, but it was only by a few points rather than a hundred like Harvey.

"All right, that's enough. I'm going to go and actually visit with my parents. I can always beat you in WiiGolf back in New York."

"Fine," Mike said and then he set his sights on Harvey who was slumped against the couch in the far corner. "Want to play Mario Kart Wii?"

"Jesus, do I have to?" Harvey said, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling as though he really was asking God.

"C'mon, Harvey. You can take a break from being a dignified bastard for one day," Donna replied.

He groaned, but took the controller offered to him.

They raced four times, the last of which Harvey groaned after the end because he had just been about ready to win when some stupid character had taken out his car with a turtle shell right at the finish line and he found himself in third in less than a second. "Damn game!"

"Hey, I finished in 6th," Mike replied with a troubled frown.

"Well, I need more alcohol if I'm going to continue playing this," Harvey said as he got to his feet and stretched.

"How much have you had today?"

"Two glasses of bourbon and two glasses of wine. Not nearly enough."

"What do you intend on getting? A beer?"

Harvey frowned as he thought about and then he cocked his head and smiled. "Actually, no. Ever had a Kahlua and Cream?"

"Nope," Mike said.

"They're good. Like a dessert drink. I'll go make us some," Harvey replied and left the room before Mike could say anything else.

He was just about to walk into the kitchen when he heard Mary say, "So?" He had to stop when heard that simple little word. It carried a very serious tone behind it; very different from how he had ever heard Mary talk.

"So what?" Donna asked. They had to be on the other side of the kitchen wall sitting at the table to be so close, but Harvey still shrank back in the shadows and waited on the other side of the door frame to hear.

"Don't be coy with me. When are you and Harvey going to get together?"

He heard Donna chuckling and waited to hear her answer.

"Never, mom Do you know what a relationship like that would do to our friendship? Harvey and I are friends and we remain friends because we don't have that kind of bullshit in our lives. We work as we are."

Mary huffed and said, "Stop getting all your ideas about romance from the movies. I have never seen two so obviously close not attempt that kind of relationship. I've seen married couples who never had a bond so deep."

"And we'd never cheapen it by getting married either."

"Then don't marry, darling, but it's about damn time you faced your feelings on this You're wasting precious time. You've already wasted ten years."

"Hah! Harvey's still enjoying his bachelorhood."

"I doubt he's enjoying it as much as you think he is," Mary replied with a giggle. "I don't know if I could rightly call Harvey lovesick, but he does love you. He wants to be with you."

"If Harvey wanted to be with me, he would have brought it up in all these years."

The older lawyer could feel his fingernails digging into the wood frame of the doorway, and he was clenching his jaw so tightly, he could feel the ache in his shoulders. It was taking a massive amount of effort to keep from joining the conversation and adding his two cents.

"Donna, we both know perfectly well why he hasn't. You shut him down once before. If you want a relationship with him, then you're going to have to go to him."

"Mom, you seem to think of us like we're in some fairytale romance. You act like we're meant to be. Our friendship is just fine without making it more complicated."

Mary sighed loudly. "The city has made you cynical, I see. You do realize that you and Harvey are as close as you're ever going to be. All your friendship can do now is diminish. If you do find someone else to be with, what do you think will happen to your friendship? You really think your boyfriend will want you to continue that?"

There was a momentary pause in the conversation. Harvey leaned in closer, though he could hear just fine and waited for the answer. He had thought of a similar scenario for years and feared it. Donna was essential to not only his life, but his career; he thought of having someone like Norma at his secretary's desk and shuddered.

"He'll always have Mike," Donna finally replied, but her voice was tentative.

He heard Mary chuckle again. "The boy is nice and I can tell their close. Almost like brothers. But they're not quite on par with each other. They're not equals."

"One day they will be," Donna supplied, a little more confidently.

"That day is a long way off."

The conversation trailed off and Harvey decided to slink back into the dark and walk in with a little bit more noise, pressing his usually soft steps more firmly into the floor and he tried to push the conversation from his mind as he walked into the kitchen. He opened the cabinet door looking for the right glasses and cursed softly when he couldn't remember which cabinet it was.

Harvey?"

He turned and smirked at Donna. "Oh hey. Where have you been? You left me to suffer Mario Kart in there! I feel like my eyes are about to roll out of my sockets from the sheer cuteness."

Donna grinned, though he noted a touch of sadness to her eyes. "Maybe we can set up the table for poker now, to save your sanity."

"Yes! Now, where's the Kahlua? I promised Mike a Kahlua and Cream."

"That's a bit cheap for you, isn't it?"

"It's still good."

She walked over and opened the cabinet next to the one he was rooting through, revealing a dozen bottles of wine, scotch, whiskey, and the one bottle of Kahlua. Then she walked over to the cabinet next to the sink and pulled out two glasses and a shot glass.

"You measure out your Kahlua? Pfft."

"You don't need any more alcohol heavy drinks, buddy."

"I'm not even tipsy!"

"You've had enough," Donna said with a stern look.

He slumped. "Fine. No more for the night." He was obedient as he mixed up the drinks when he suddenly noticed Donna went toward the doorway and looked out, apparently for eavesdroppers and then she was back at his side.

"Hey," she said, suddenly, touching his hand.

Harvey tried to keep from freezing as if he knew the direction of this conversation, but he could still feel his heart pound. "Hmm?"

"Come to my room when everyone's in bed. I want you to tell me exactly what my sister did."

He sighed in exasperation, but played it off as weariness. "All right, sure, but you sort of already know."

"I need to hear if my assumptions are correct."

"All right, fine, but are you sure it's a good idea to do this in your room?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked, eying him shrewdly.

"Because I don't want your dad coming after me with an axe because I went into his unmarried daughter's bedroom in the middle of the night."

She laughed and squeezed his arm affectionately. "He won't. If he does try to kill you, he'll have to contend with me."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!<strong> **Feedback is always appreciated. =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thank you, everyone, for your reviews and alerts! They warm my heart to see you enjoying the story. =) I hope you continue to enjoy with this next chapter!**

**And I hope my fellow Americans enjoyed their Thanksgiving!  
><strong>

**I do not own Suits.  
><strong>

**Chapter 4**

They had hit the highway by ten in the morning after a big breakfast of French toast and eggs. Mike was actually a little surprised at how quickly Donna had pressed them to get on the road, especially since her father's bad mood had blow over and he actually nodded courteously as they had slunk sleepily into the kitchen. Mike wasn't completely oblivious. He had seen Donna's look of death at Louis and some choice associates often enough to spot it and they had been targeted at her sister. Something had clearly happened between the time they arrived and dinner. But, as has happened several times the day before, he was not privy to it and Donna and Harvey were not about to let him in on it.

Mike scowled quietly in the back seat. He thought that this had been a break through in friendship. That maybe, just maybe, he could have been included among Harvey's circle of real friends, which might very well be only Donna but may possibly include Jessica. He and Harvey did occasionally go out for drinks and they hung out at work a lot more than Harvey and Donna. But Mike still got the feeling that Harvey compartmentalized his relationship with his associate so that they'd never cross with the one he had with Donna. Would he and Harvey reach that level?

_Don__'__t __be __stupid,_Mike thought to himself, _Harvey __and __Donna __have__ known __each __other __for __twelve __years. __You__'__ve __known__ Harvey __for __five __months.__ You__'__ve __still __got __a__ ways __to __go __to __make __that __kind __of __trust. _Mike sighed and turned to look out the window.

The noise caught Harvey's attention in the all too quiet car. "What's a matter, kid? Still wishing you weren't a virgin?"

Mike huffed in annoyance. When Harvey continued to glance up at him in expectation, he finally said, "I was wondering about my gram. I hope she wasn't lonely and had fun."

"I'm sure she's fine, Mike," Harvey replied in a flat tone. Donna was oddly quiet, but since Mike was sitting right behind her, he couldn't see what she was doing.

The conversation dried up yet again but this time Harvey turned on his radio and soon _Baba __O__'__Riley_ sounded from the speakers.

"I didn't think you were a The Who fan, Harvey," Mike said, allowing his head to lie back against the back seat.

"Just because they're not in my record collection, doesn't mean that I don't like them. That goes for Queen too."

"Except I never hear them in the car."

"That's because we tend to review papers in the car. I don't consider that working music."

"I work to everything."

"Well, that's why I hired you."

There was another significant pause, in which they heard two more songs – it was a disc clearly burned by Harvey because it was an interesting mixture of music – when Mike had a sudden thought. He debated whether he should share it, but decided that Harvey could either answer or give him a sarcastic quip, but he would understand since it was personal.

"Hey, Harvey."

"What?"

"I was just wondering, since I met Donna's family, am I ever going to meet your family?"

The pause was quite possibly the tensest one they had experienced on this trip – and because of the drama with the sister that was saying something. Mike privately sighed when he noticed Harvey's lighthearted smirk turned into a frown. Harvey and Donna both looked at each other; an entire conversation was happening without them even saying a single word.

Harvey finally sighed, hanging his head for the barest second, and then he turned down the radio before he turned his attention back to the road. "You better pray to God that you never do then."

"What?" Mike's eyes grew wide, both surprised that Harvey revealed anything and at the idea that his family might be unpleasant. _On__ second __thought, __that __might __explain __a__ few __things __about __Harvey, _Mike thought, thinking back on the warm reception Harvey had given him his first two months at the firm. "Why?"

"Because I'm virtually estranged from them. I have almost nothing in common with them," Harvey replied and, if Mike was not mistaken, he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

"But…but you're related!"

"That's…not enough anymore," Harvey replied. "I'm from upstate New York. It's a crappy little town near Buffalo. My older brother left for California when he was eighteen and hasn't once visited."

"Wow. That's really sad," Mike said slowly. He recalled just yesterday his sincere wish that he hadn't stepped into a minefield about Seth, Donna's brother-in-law, but now he had a feeling that he was already in the minefield with no hope of escaping. He hesitated on asking his next question but ploughed on ahead. "Mind if I ask why?"

Again, Harvey and Donna glanced at each other. The secretary looked back at Mike with an expression that said 'watch yourself.' Mike's face crumpled like a tin can and he shrunk back.

The low sound of _Who __Are __You? _could be heard in the stiff silence. Mike was sitting in the back seat quietly berating himself for not being able to resist opening that can of worms, so he was surprised when Harvey actually answered: "It was my father and my asshole little brother. They think I'm a sleazy lawyer who makes his money by fleecing the poor."

And with that Mike felt that the subject was officially closed. Even as interesting as the information was to more fully complete his perception of Harvey, he still cursed himself. The music remained on low volume and Mike just sat there, mulling over what was said.

He had a difficult time remembering his parents, but what he did recall was a loving and doting mother and father. They had been so proud of him and encouraged his curiosity and expanding his own mind. And now that they were gone, he thought to make his grandmother proud. He had admittedly been anxious when he told her about the associates position he'd landed at the firm, thinking of the very same stereotype that Harvey mentioned. If she had any negative thoughts on the matter, she didn't voice them and he couldn't see anything other than delight in her eyes. He couldn't bear living with the idea of his grandmother believing him to be a crook.

"Hey, Mike?"

The associate pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at Harvey in the rearview mirror. The stony mask was back on and Mike couldn't keep from swallowing noticeably, thinking that Harvey was about to reprimand him. "Yeah?"

"You better be thankful we had Thanksgiving dinner at Donna's."

"I am! Remember, I thanked her before we left!" He was surprised when Harvey snorted with laughter.

"No, what I meant by that is – my mother is the worst cook in the world."

Mike stared and then he snorted until he couldn't hide the laughter anymore. "Is she really?"

"Oh my God yes," Donna said, speaking for the first time since they started on their way back to New York.

"You've met Harvey's family? For Thanksgiving?"

"Yes and a couple of other times since."

"Ever had lime green Jell-O salad with bananas and a mayonnaise spread?" Harvey said.

"Ewww….she really makes a dish like that? I want to barf just hearing that."

"Not in my car, pup! I'll kick you out and you can walk home."

"I'm not really…"

"And, Mike, the turkey was so dry, I must've drank a gallon of water trying to eat it," Donna said and she shuddered.

"Yeah, she's just terrible. I gained twenty pounds after I left home and started eating in the school cafeteria."

"Even that food sucks!"

"It tasted like heaven at the time. Now I know better."

"I feel terribly saying this but the burger and fries we had at McDonalds Thanksgiving night made a much more palatable dinner," Donna said and Harvey sagely.

"Sad but true."

Once again, silence fell through the car. Mike turned to stare out the window, noticing that they were currently passing through a sizable town and then he put his ear buds in his ear and closed his eyes.

Donna was quietly chewing the end of her pen and staring down at her crossword puzzle, willing it to magically reveal the answers she needed. _Revolutionary __War __general __Thomas___? __Which __side? __I __don__'__t __remember __learning__ all __the__ general s__in __history __class._ She had mulled it over some and decided to try and see if she could get the easier answers when she heard Harvey say: "Oh shit."

She glanced over at him to see he had recoiled back into his seat and taken his hands off the steering wheel; he closed his eyes and flinched. She turned to the front and she saw a big dark blue pickup blocking their way and suddenly it felt like everything was in slow motion. The driver of the other car was staring at them in a mixture of surprise and fear before the closeness of their cars blocked her angle on him. She only had time to sit back in her seat and then they hit.

_CRUNCH!_

Donna could barely hear the tingling of broken glass over the roar and groan of the impact and the sound of twisting metal. She thought she heard Mike scream but it was swallowed in the noise. Just as her body was propelled forward she felt the air pressed out of her lungs as the seat belt caught her and held her and at the same time she flinched as she felt the airbag deploy with the sound of a bomb exploding. She swallowed a mouthful of dust and tried to cough it back up but her lungs had no air and she gasped and lay limp. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

She was never sure if she actually lost consciousness, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she sucked in a lungful of air and groaned, bringing her hand up to rub at her face as she stared at the hazy surroundings. An otherworldly detachment fell over her as she looked all around, expecting to see some sort of post-apocalyptic landscape, but all she saw was the spider web of the immense sheet of glass that used to be the windshield and all else was dust. She gingerly reached over with her left arm and unbuckled her seat belt and then she turned to check on Harvey and froze.

He was dead.

That was the only way she could describe him. He was slumped against his seat, his head had fallen back and his eyes were wide and blank as they stared unseeing at the ceiling. His mouth was slightly open and she noticed a trickle of blood spilling down the side. Shock fell over her in cold waves and she willed herself to move, to perhaps check his pulse to confirm if he really was, but even just the thought made her start to tremble uncontrollably.

No. Harvey couldn't be dead. This was Harvey! The best closer in the city, who had been shot at least once and almost shot another couple of times by pissed off clients and he had survived with hardly a hair out of place and certainly not a renewed fear for his life. _No, __Harvey,_ Donna thought.

But just as she was about to touch his arm, she saw his fingers twitched. Then, as if it had a mind of its own, his hand slowly slid up to the buckle and pressed the button. Just as the belt came loose she saw his chest expand with his first breath and he blinked his eyes in a daze; they slowly surveyed the scene much the way she had when she first came too and then he raised his right arm to rub at the left side of his chest where the belt had cut across.

Donna let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and tried to get a handle on her emotions, even as much as she wanted to sob in relief. It looked like one of the greatest lawyers New York ever saw would live to fight another day and continue wrestling victory from his opponent's hands with his sharp wit, charm, and careful way with words.

Harvey finally noticed her and stopped rubbing his chest for a moment to reach for her hand. "Are you okay?" She saw him speak but did not actually hear the words and she wondered for a moment if her hearing had failed her in the car crash. She nodded, unperturbed by her own personal development, and then she turned back to look at Mike.

He was sitting back and staring blankly at the ceiling, much like Harvey had been, but she could see the rapid up and down movement of chest as breathed.

"Mike, honey, are you all right?" Donna asked, reaching back to put a hand on his knee.

She was surprised when he jerked his knee away and stared back at her in unadulterated fear. "No, mom! No! What's going on? What happened?"

Donna was startled when he called her mom but then she closed her eyes and thought, _That__'__s __right. __Mike __lost __his __parents __in __a __car __crash. __He__'__s __probably __having __a __flash back __now,__ damn__ it._ She reached out again to put her hand on his knee and offer him some more comforting words when a knock at Harvey's window drew her attention.

"Hey in there! Are you all right?" Some man was peering in at them but Harvey made no motion to open the door and so he continued knocking.

"Yes, we're all alive! Did you call 911?" She said.

"They're on their way!"

"Thank you," Donna called back and then turned to the associate again. "Mike, do you know what day it is?"

He was staring at her as though he were trying to figure out who she was and she decided to continue on the vein of triggering his memory to meet the present. "Mike, we're on our way home from Thanksgiving with my parents. You remember Seth the asshole, right? We cleaned Harvey's clock in at least three rounds of Wii Bowling yesterday. We were just talking about how Harvey's mom is the worst cook ever and that you're lucky you didn't have to go to dinner over at her house, remember? Please, Mike, please tell me if you're all right?"

"M-mom. Where's dad? What happened to dad?"

_Damn__ it! _He clearly was not snapping out of it and for the moment she deciding playing along might be the best way to keep him calm. "He's right here, Mike. He's alive. Harvey, come on, reassure the kid. Harvey?"

It suddenly occurred to her that her hearing was in perfect order. Harvey had not spoken to her, he had mouthed the words at her. She turned back to stare at him and did not miss the hoarse gasping as he continued to rub at his chest and struggle to breathe.

"Harvey? Harvey, what's wrong?"

His eyes were pinched shut and he was clenching his jaw as he continued to rub at his chest – she felt the fear creep back up on her – directly over his heart. "My chest," he managed to whisper and even as he said she saw his breath catch and he leaned back into his seat, still gasping like a fish out of water.

"Harvey, just remain calm," Donna said, surprised at the calmness and strength in her voice when she felt anything but, and she placed a hand on his other shoulder. "Come on, Harvey, just relax. You'll be able to breathe soon."

"What's going on? What's happening? Dad!"

"Mike, please, please calm down. You need to be calm or dad can't manage. Please, Harvey, breathe!"

Harvey only seemed to be trying harder to breathe and it was, with mounting panic, that she thought he might actually die.

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><p><strong>Thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Feedback is always appreciated. =)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews and alerts! You guys are the best.**

**Iuliana - I think Mike has enough near death stories on this site. Time for Harvey to get his fair share of whump if you ask me. =D  
><strong>

**Chapter 5**

It only took ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive but it felt like an eternity. All the while, Donna practically crouched on the console between the two front seats, holding Harvey's hand as he continued to struggle for breath. She coaxed him with soothing words and he seemed to relax finally, so that the croaking gasps were lessened, but his eyes were dull with pain and exhaustion.

_Where__ the __hell __is__ the __ambulance? _Donna thought.

Because she was dealing with Harvey, helping Mike in his state of mind went neglected. Occasionally, she could divert her attention to him – say a few things to jog his memory and squeeze his knee, but he was completely and totally locked in his flashback. Tears were running down his face and he kept crying out for dad, whom he assumed was dead or dying. Since he was in no immediate danger, she concentrated on Harvey, but the pressure was getting to her. She could already feel the cracks in her mental armor begin to spread, having taken a giant blow by Harvey's near death.

"You're doing good, Harvey. Just stay with me. The ambulance will arrive soon and they'll be able to help you breathe. Then you'll be as you were." Even Donna did not quite believe in her words, but Harvey squeezed her hand lightly in reply.

She jumped when a knock suddenly came at Harvey's window, but then sighed in relief as a voice said, "It's the police. I'm opening the door." Even though the door had been unaffected, it still squealed and groaned on its hinges. The officer ducked to peer inside and asked, "Are there any serious injuries?"

"He can't breathe well, but that's it, I think," Donna replied.

"Mom, what's going on? What's happening?" Mike called from the back seat. His _voice_ even sounded young.

"Mike, it's the police. They're here to help us get into the ambulances. Just stay calm," Donna replied and then turned to the office again. "My friend in the backseat is having a flashback. Please be careful with him."

"I'll let the paramedics know," the man replied and left their side, leaving the door open. Seconds later his place was filled by a man in a green uniform and a stretcher.

"Hi, my name is Ryan. I'll be helping you out. Now, what is your name?"

"-Arvey," was all that the lawyer managed to say between gasps.

"Harvey, was it?"

"Yes."

"Tell me what hurts?" Ryan asked, even as he peeled Harvey's eyes back to check htem with a flashlight as part of the preliminary check-up.

"My chest."

"Here?" Ryan asked to the center of his chest. He no longer rubbed the spot with his hand now that Donna held it.

Harvey shook his head and said, "Left."

"Here then?" The man asked again, gingerly touching the area above his heart. Harvey flinched dramatically at the touch; he hissed in pain and nodded. "Very well. Let me check the sound of your lungs and then we'll get you outta here."

Donna waited with bated breath, hoping this might answer question of Harvey's breathing trouble.

She was right. The man nodded to himself and then pulled the Stethoscope out of his ears. "Just as I thought. One, possibly both, of his lungs have collapsed. We can re-inflate them here, but he must be lying down. Then we'll get him to the hospital for a more thorough check-up."

"Okay, Harvey, I need to help Mike now. I'll see you at the hospital, all right?" She squeezed his hand one last time and then opened her own door. He almost hadn't let her go, but in the end she felt his fingers loosen and she pulled her hand out and then opened the back door, just as she saw another stretcher with a woman and a man team pull up.

"Mike?" He turned to look at her and, even as he wiped the last traces of tears from his eyes, she saw awareness staring back at her.

"I'm really sorry, Donna. I – I didn't mean to freak out, but when I thought Harvey was – " He stumbled on the last word, but Donna cut in.

"He's not. In all likelihood, he'll be fine," she replied and then she drew him into a hug. When she pulled back, she studied him more thoroughly. "Are you hurt? Anything broken?" She stopped when she noticed blood leaking out of his ears and leaned in closer to inspect them, but he fended her off.

"I'm fine. I think my ears were torn when my earbuds popped out in the crash, but I'm fine. I feel like I was punched in the chest by the seatbelt though," Mike replied, putting a hand to his chest for emphasis.

"Well, let me get out of the way so the paramedics can look at you."

Just as the other paramedic did with Harvey, the man checked Mike's vitals and his eyes for signs of a concussion. He checked Mike's ears and declared the injury minor, but the man insisted on a neck brace, even though Mike insisted he felt fine. However, he allowed them t do it and then load him onto the stretcher. As they were wheeling him away, the woman walked over and said, "You really should come to the hospital with us."

"I'm fine. Besides, I need to take care of this," Donna said, staring pointedly at the car.

"You could be seriously injured."

"I'm not. I feel fine. I'll be by the hospital later," Donna replied, waving a hand in dismissal. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the woman purse her lips in irritation and walk away. In truth, Donna could feel all of her muscles screaming and her right shoulder hurt so badly, she wondered if she had torn the muscle, but she could walk. There was no sharp pain anywhere that suggested broken bones, just a general soreness. _It__'__s __not __like __I __have __much__ to __do __here __anyway, _she thought. She could wait to be checked out.

The entire front half of the mustang was completely destroyed. She noted that she and Harvey were lucky to even have legs, seeing as the damage had stopped just short of crumpling their leg space. Debris was scattered all over the highway – she saw a hunk of metal lying twenty feet away in the grass – and the truck they hit was also lying some ways away on its side, having rolled almost completely over. Another set of paramedics was currently wheeling the driver of the other car towards an ambulance.

She watched the man go and a hot swoop of anger boiled in her stomach as she thought just how close that man came to killing her best friend, and all because he had very likely impatient to cross the damn road. A busy highway.

"Excuse me, ma'am, were you the driver of this car?" Donna turned to see another police officer gesturing towards the mustang.

"No, I was a passenger. My friend, the driver, is on his way to the hospital. May I help you?"

"Maybe. Do you know where I might find his registration and insurance?"

"Yes, the glove box. Hopefully it didn't get destroyed," Donna replied and went to go and sit in her seat again. She did find the registration and insurance there and, she couldn't help but smile to herself, a tiny little notebook where he kept meticulous record of the mileage of the car and a pen. That was all. _The__ only __person __I__ know, __besides __Ray, __who __hasn__'__t __junked__ up__ his __glove __box,_ she thought fondly. "Need anything else?"

"We would like to question your friend about the accident. Do you know what happened?"

"Not really. I was working on my Crossword puzzle and then I heard him say 'oh shit' and when I looked up we were about two seconds from hitting the truck. I assume he was trying to cross the road."

The officer was writing all this down in his own little notebook and nodded. "Yes, the driver of the other car told us as much. Do you have any idea what speed you were going?"

"No," Donna thought and it was with a pang that she remembered threatening to kill Harvey if he got pulled over on the way to her mother's house. Even if Harvey had been speeding, it was the other man who had pulled out in front of him. He still would be found at fault, but he might not garner quite as much sympathy if he had been going over eighty.

"All right, thank you for your time and answering my questions. Do you need to be dropped off at the hospital?"

"Yes," she replied and then a thought struck her, "Wait, I need to get our bags." She looked over and found the car keys still dangling from the ignition and she yanked them out and walked towards the trunk. She sighed in relief when she saw Mike's messenger bag and was thinking of how lucky they were that they did not have that in the car to knock either her or Harvey in the head, since Mike had decided to take his iPod and put it in back. She unloaded their bags and then looked to see if she could locate his iPod or if it had been smashed to pieces in the impact, so she was surprised when she found it completely intact on the floor. _Remarkable,_she mused as she picked it up and saw that, even though it was scratched up, it still worked perfectly. She yanked the ear buds out and threw them back in the car; _I__'__ll __buy__ him__ an__ actual __set __of __headphones._

With one last look, she took the camera that she has in her purse and took a picture of the car, for evidence's sake. Then she gathered all of their bags and walked over to the police car waiting for her.

She was surprised to find that Harvey was already set up in a room by the time she arrived, after having had his x-rays taken. Mike was in the process of getting his x-rays and Donna was next in line.

"Is this really necessary? I don't feel like I have any broken bones." Donna asked of the doctor who had examined her.

"We would prefer to take every precaution and catch any breaks before they get worse," she replied with a cheesy smile and Donna had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

_At__ least__ it __won__'__t __be _my _insurance __that __pays __for __this, _she grumped to herself, shuddering at the idea of her premiums going up because the cheap bastards were scared to death of actually using the money she had invested in health insurance all these years. Thankfully, because she worked at a firm, the insurance company had been a lot happier to cough up for her claims so they wouldn't get their asses sued off by her lawyer friends.

Even as well as she felt, she had been shocked when she had finally done the examination that a giant dark blue and black bruise ran from her right shoulder all the way down to her left hip. The doctor had given her an ice pack to keep put on at least part of the bruise, but she felt the little thing was rather stupid and needless, so she just left it on the exam table.

After she was done with the x-rays and cleared of broken bones, the doctor attempted to make Donna take a bed and rest, but Donna would not have it.

"I'll be in Harvey Specter's room," she said and walked out, a woman on a mission. All she wanted was some time with the boys after all this chaos and mayhem, but most importantly, she actually wanted to see that Harvey was fine. She found the both of them sharing a room. Mike had his back to Harvey and the older lawyer was sprawled out on his bed in the same jeans and pullover he had been wearing all day with his eyes closed. She did not, however, fail to notice that Harvey was hooked up to a heart monitor and she moved over quietly with a worried frown on her face.

It suddenly occurred to her that even if they were all discharged in the next few hours, they had absolutely no way of getting back to New York at the moment. Well, there could be a bus that went to New York, but not a single one of them was in any condition to be a cramped bus for several hours. A straight car ride was what they needed but where could they get one? Were they in any shape to drive anyway? There was only one option. She searched for Harvey's phone in his backpack, found the right number, stepped outside of the room and called.

It was answered on the third ring. "Already trying to get in to do work, Harvey?" Jessica's smooth voice sounded over the speaker.

"I wish that's what he was trying to do," Donna replied and she could practically see the surprise on his bosses' face. "Hi, Jessica."

"Donna, what's going on?"

"Harvey, Mike, and I were in a car crash on the way back from my parents' house. Some idiot in a pick-up truck tried to cross the highway and Harvey t-boned him going about seventy."

"Oh my God. Are you all right?"

"I don't think any of us have any broken bones," Donna replied. She had the sense that Jessica knew she was not quite telling her the details – it was her job after all to see these things – but the older woman did not press the issue. "I think we're going to be discharged by this evening, but we don't really have a way back to New York."

"Just hold on for a few hours and I'll come get you," Jessica said immediately.

Donna sighed and closed her eyes in relief. "Thank you. I wasn't keen on getting a bus pass and Harvey is in no shape to drive us back. I suppose I could have…"

"I don't think _any_ of you are in any shape to drive, as far as I am concerned. Where are you?"

"We're about two hours away in a town called Pike. The hospital is Pike Memorial."

"All right, I'll see you in a few hours. Take it easy, Donna, and be there for Harvey and Mike."

"Of course I will. It's my job," Donna replied with a tired smile and then hung up the phone.

She walked back into the room and tried to quietly walk up closer to Harvey but then his eyes suddenly flew open and they both jumped in surprise but he relaxed and smiled at her. "Hey," he muttered in a quiet and sleep-laden voice. "Are you all right?"

"Am I all right? I'm not the one hooked up to the heart monitor."

"I'm fine. My shoulder hurt's like a bitch, though, so I asked for something. They were willing to give me a small shot of morphine, but they made the condition that I had to be hooked up to a heart monitor. Morphine isn't necessarily good to give to people who have had breathing problems."

"But that was fixed, wasn't it?"

"Yes, and I feel much better. I argued the same, but they insisted so I said fine."

"No broken bones then?"

"Not that they saw, apparently," Harvey said but he grimaced.

"You think there might be?"

"Well, I'm not sure what else could cause this pain in my shoulder. There's no way the bruise is enough. I mean, you're not in pain."

She couldn't keep a smile from tugging at her lips. "I am a woman, Harvey. We can take pain better than you men," she said quietly.

"I am sure that's it," Harvey said and she swatted his knee lightly. "The doctor told me I was actually very lucky. They said usually people pound on the brake in their car and break all the bones in their leg upon impact."

She flinched. "You didn't brake."

"How could I? He was right there in my field of vision about three seconds before we hit him. There is nothing I could have done that would have kept the wreck from happening, so I just…let go."

"I saw you take your hands off the steering wheel."

Harvey sobered up and she noticed a distant look to his eyes. "I thought I was going to die. You wouldn't believe how surprised I was when I woke up, although I did think I was dead there for another minute or so. It was just…surreal." He frowned and shook his head. "How about you? Any broken bones? You don't look like you have any."

"I don't have any broken bones, as I had been saying" she replied dryly.

"You look like you've had your fill of hospital doctors and officials."

The smile disappeared from her face and she couldn't resist brushing a stray hair from his forehead. "I was worried about you. Everyone kept waylaying me. Try not to do that again."

"It was hardly a picnic for me."

"I know," she said and finally decided to move a chair so that she was sitting in between both of them. "Is Mike all right?"

"Yeah, he was just tired. Got the same seatbelt bruise that we all do," Harvey replied. He laid his head back and closed his eyes as though the last of his energy had been sapped by the conversation, but then he asked without opening his eyes, "I don't suppose there's anything salvageable from my car?"

Donna snorted with laughter. "Maybe the trunk."

He sighed. "Damn it. I really liked that car. It was a classic!"

"It's not like you can't get another one."

"Hmm," was all he said and she could see his good mood drain away as he glared at the door. She turned to see if he was looking at anything and was startled to see a man standing at the door with his arm in a sling and a bandage wrapped around his head. "What do you want?"

The guy swallowed, but took a couple of shaky steps into the room. Donna eyed him coolly and she turned her chair to add to the power of Harvey's glare.

"Hi. I uh…I'm err…sure you know why I am here then. I just…I just would like to apologize for the wreck," the man said, with a shaky nod. He opened his mouth to say a few something else, hesitated, and then he said, "But you were going pretty fast."

Harvey sat up so fast the man jumped back and cowered at the ugly glare Harvey gave him. The lawyer swung his leg over to get out of bed when he pulled at the heart monitor with his arm, and so he settled with staying in bed. "Don't you dare lay even partial blame on me, you sorry son of a bitch. I was going the actual speed limit, _because_ there was so much traffic, you idiot! I would advise you to find the best lawyer money can buy, but _I_am the best lawyer anyone can buy and I may very well _sue_ you of everything you have!"

The guy let out a noise that sounded an awful lot like the squeak of a frighten mouse faced against the cat ready to feed on it. "Pl-please, we can keep this civil. It looks like, like I got off worse than you."

"You almost killed us. You can placate your conscious all you like, but you almost killed three people."

"Almost. I didn't kill anybody."

"Almost is enough for a jury," Harvey replied darkly.

The man's face paled and he slowly shrunk back out of the room and they watched him go through the windows, following him until he finally vanished. Harvey inclined his head towards her; "I'm surprised you didn't try to keep me from tearing into him."

She turned her glare on Harvey. "I honestly did think you were dead when I came to in the car. You looked _dead_. He deserves your anger; I don't care how honest his mistake was."

Harvey nodded and then allowed his head to sink back into the pillows. Now all they could do was wait for Jessica to arrive and take them home.

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! =D<strong>

**I would just like to say that my medical knowledge is minimal at best. When I read up on deflated lungs, it said it was an incredibly common injury in car wrecks. So, please, critique all the medical practices I describe if you know the truth so that I can correct everything wrong with this chapter. **

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hi, everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little late, but this time of year has been busy for me. =) Thank you lovesreidforever and NCIS Connection, for the feedback! I really appreciate it!**

**Just an fyi, the wreck that Donna, Harvey, and Mike were in is actually modeled after a wreck my mom survived. So, many of the medical details and actual wreck details follow from her experience.  
><strong>

**Chapter 6**

Donna was starting to nod off in her seat that was currently facing Harvey's bed. The adrenaline rush and her worry over Harvey had finally started to fade away and now all she felt was a deep ache in what felt like every single muscle and every single bone. The conversation had petered out after the confrontation with the other car owner and Harvey had drifted off to sleep again. Mike, as far as she could tell, had slept through it all, keeping his back turned against them. He hadn't so much as sighed after she entered the room, which prompted her to check on him. He was curled up using his arm as a pillow and she noticed that his chest was rising and falling gently with each inhale.

She sat down again and pulled out her crossword puzzle, but her eyelids were drooping beyond her control and she could not focus her thoughts to read a single clue. However, Jessica was going to be there soon. She needed to be awake to direct her to the room. She could sleep in the car.

"You wanna share my bed? Harvey mumbled.

Donna's head jerked up from where she had been resting it in her hand and she glanced at Harvey. His eyes were closed his breathing was low and deep. Had he just talked in his sleep? But then he inhaled more deeply and cracked an eye open at her.

"No, I'm fine. I can sleep in the car ride home."

"What's wrong with sleeping now? You look like you got in a fight with a heavy weight boxing champion."

She swatted him on the hand and he chuckled. "Jessica's going to be here. I should be awake."

"You know, this hospital has people on staff to help her get to the room. Just because you're with me, doesn't mean you have to keep working. You were in the wreck too. Come on. Sleep."

She snorted at him even as she eyed the bed. She would not deny, the bed was taking on a whole new light of comfort and her aching bones screamed for much needed rest. "Are you kidding me? You can only just fit on that bed."

"I'll make room for you. It's not like you're fat." He raised his eyelids to gauge her reaction and there was an irrepressible smile tugging at his lips.

She did not disappoint. Her eyes sparked a warning at him and she was inwardly fuming at the implication that she was the one who thought herself 'fat.' "I don't know why I wouldn't want to share a bed with such a _charming_ man as yourself."

"If that was supposed to be insulting, you failed. Of course I'm an asshole; that's nothing new. Besides, I don't see Mike over there offering you a sleeping space. So stop being stubborn and come on. You're only putting yourself in a worse mood."

"Hmmph." But she put her Crossword down and approached the bed. He slid his body over as he promised, but even so there was only a sliver of space for her a lie. He most certainly could not lie on his side with his left shoulder – and probably his right as well – being as bad as it was. He would have to remain flat on his back.

While she was standing by his bed, she was thinking about the best way to fill the space. Harvey was staring at her through mere slits, apparently having the energy to fully open his eyes fully, when finally she turned around and sat down. Then she brought her legs up and rolled over so that she was facing Harvey and hooked an arm around his chest. The space was so small, she could feel her butt hanging off into space and she squeezed as close as was humanly possible.

She sighed when she thought of her next best course of action. "All right, just because I'm doing this doesn't mean anything other than I'd like to not fall off while I'm sleeping." She then hooked her leg around his like an anchor.

"Come on, Donna, you've slept with me before."

"Not usually in such close proximity."

"Your bed, after my apartment building caught fire?"

"You instigated that."

"You were cold."

"I'm still not sure I believe that."

"Mmph," Harvey grunted. His head lolled to the side away from her, officially closing the conversation.

She let the conversation go and lay her head on Harvey's good shoulder – or at least his better shoulder. She almost jumped when she felt his arm curl around her to hold her even more securely to his chest and he shifted his weight once more to the other side of the mattress, to give her more space. She felt him relax and it wasn't long before the only sound that filled the room was the heart monitor beeping Harvey's sleep rhythm.

Donna wasn't sure how much time had passed when she woke up later. Nothing appeared to have changed. Harvey was definitely still hooked up to the heart monitor and thanks to it, she also knew he was very much alive as well. Then she heard the whispered voices coming from the other side of the room.

"They were like that when I woke up. Think we should wake them up, Ms. Pearson?"

"We're not at the office, Mike, so it's Jessica. We'll let them sleep a little bit longer, but if they don't want to be charged for a night at the hospital, we'll have to get out of here before five."

Donna's eyes flew open and she abruptly sat up, almost gasping for breath at the sudden scream of her muscles. She felt Harvey jolt beneath her and he wrapped his arm even tighter around her until she groaned in pain from the pressure on her seat belt bruise and struggled to get away, almost falling off of the bed. It took him a moment to realize what had happened and then he quickly unwrapped his arm from around her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. "I thought you were falling off the bed."

She gave him no response, but simply stood up and purposely ducked her head to hopefully hide her blush as she smoothed out her clothes. The last thing they needed was Jessica thinking anything illicit of their relationship. Finally she allowed herself to meet Jessica, but she wound up focusing on Mike and glaring at him as he attempted to keep from laughing.

"Mike."

"But, Donna, you two did look funny flailing like that."

She chose to ignore him and instead focused on Jessica – wearing jeans, a maroon shirt and her leather jacket and looking far more laidback than Donna had ever seen her – was standing with her arms crossed and an annoyingly knowing smile on her face. Any other person with a smile like that would get Donna's patent evil glare and would probably wind up missing, but this was Jessica, who could easily fire both her and Harvey without a second thought. Probably most likely it would just be her. Instead she settled for a neutral smile and said, "Hi, Jessica, I'm glad you could come and get us. I definitely had no intention of staying in the hospital overnight. I would've gotten a hotel room first."

"You're welcome. I'm glad to hear that you're mostly all right, but, I must say, none of you look very well," Jessica said and she leaned over to look at Harvey. Donna realized she was blocking the way and stepped aside. Harvey was sitting up in bed looking far more alert and awake than he had the whole rest of the day since the crash, but his skin still seemed paler than normal and she noticed particular creases in his face that appeared to have deepened from the pain. "How are you feeling, Harvey?"

"Like shit."

She smirked at Harvey's reply. "This certainly is the most un-put together I have seen you. Ever. It doesn't suit you." Harvey's hair was so spiky it looked like someone had taken a balloon to it and gave it a static shock.

"Which is why I don't look this way at the office," he replied. He turned from her to look over to his other side. He tried to push the call button with his left hand but then his face contorted in pain and he reached over to hit it with his right instead. "Damn fluids."

A plump nurse with her hair pulled up into a tight bun walked in barely a minute later and smiled widely at everyone. "Oh good, you're all awake." She took in Jessica's presence and asked, "Ready to be discharged then?"

"Yes, very much so," Harvey replied with an impatient tone. "Can you get this out of me already?"

"Harvey, be nice," Jessica said, giving him a warning look but he ignored it.

The nurse took little notice of his short temper and merely complied with his request. "Of course, sir. I'll notify the doctor and get you your discharge papers."

Once the IV had been removed, the nurse left them in the room and then Harvey slowly got to his feet. It had not appeared to take much effort at first glance, but his back was bent as he walked and he reached over using Mike's bed as support on his way to the bathroom across the room. They watched him as if it were a spectacle. Donna tried to keep from flinching in empathy because Harvey wouldn't accept it, but he truly looked like he was in a lot of pain and that tiny shot of morphine hadn't done much for him.

"Enjoying the show?" Harvey snarled at them just as he reached the door to the bathroom and glared at them. Mike turned away abruptly, but neither Jessica or Donna showed the tiniest bit of fear.

"No, I'm not. You look like you're in a lot of pain," Jessica replied. She pursed her lips and shook her head as her eyes lingered on the shoulder he was favoring by holding it against his abdomen.

"I'm stiff," Harvey replied. "That's all. Give me until Monday and I will be fine."

"We'll see about that."

He raised his eyebrows as though she had offered him a challenge and he gave her a slight nod in acceptance.

She sighed when he finally closed the door. "He can be such a stubborn idiot."

Mike had to bite his lip to keep from giggling at that, but Donna merely nodded and sighed as well. "I have several very well documented instances of him being like that. It's not unsurprising."

"So, um, is everything taken care of then? How, uh, I mean, I'm assuming, Harvey's car is totaled, isn't it?" Mike asked with a strained smile.

Donna nodded and then added, "Crumpled like a tin can. I took pictures of it before the police dropped me off at the hospital." She went over and dug out her camera and turned it on before he handed it to Jessica. "Here."

"Oh my God," Jessica said with a pained expression. "How did you and Harvey survive? And without any broken bones?"

"I honestly don't know. I thought I was dead and when I saw Harvey right after…" Her sentence trailed and she was staring off into the wall, the picture of Harvey with his eyes open and glazed over as sharp and fresh as if she were still seeing it. She shivered before shaking her head and bringing herself back into the present. She noticed Jessica studying her, but the older lawyer made no comment and handed off the camera to Mike who had his hand out waiting patiently for it.

He immediately went pale, hissed at the pictures, and shivered himself. "Brings back unpleasant memories," he mumbled to no one in particular and after a while he also violently shook his head and abruptly turned it away from the pictures, holding it out to Donna like it was a bomb ready to explode.

"What are you looking at?"

There was a moment of silence, but then Donna held out the camera. "Your car's death."

His curiosity immediately sobered and he turned on the camera himself to start flipping through the pictures. He had immediately hitched his lawyer face on, but Donna saw the subtle cues: there was a very slight tightening to his lips and just the briefest moment of softness from nostalgia. When he handed her camera back to her, his eyes were like steel and he said in an equally hard voice, "It's just a car. I can always replace it."

Now that Jessica was there, he seemed to have clammed up emotionally, as though any hints of human softness would get him expelled from the firm like an associate with harassment charges. Donna knew Jessica could be a hard and demanding bitch, but she showed a greater emotional capacity to the firm's clients than Harvey ever dared and she wondered what inspired him to act like such a hard ass all the time. Did Jessica train him to be the firm's Rottweiler or did he honestly think that emotional vacancy was the best trait a lawyer could possibly have? No matter the case, she was going to be drilling him about it later once both Mike and Jessica were out of the picture.

Suddenly, the nurse returned with the doctor in tow, and she handed Harvey the stack of release forms – which Donna promptly intercepted and brought out her pen to fill out.

"What have I said about doing your job when you're not on the clock?" Harvey asked in amusement.

"I don't see you hurrying to take these back from me."

"Just don't expect to get paid for this."

She shot Harvey a dangerous look and was pleased to get just the barest hint of a smile from him. It was nice to know that there was at least one person who had the balls to challenge her.

"Okay, we are discharging all of you because there honestly is not much more we can do for you that you cannot do in the comfort of your home. What I recommend most for all of you – especially you," the doctor said, focusing his gaze on Harvey, "is to rest. You might even consider taking off from work for a few days next week as well. Your body needs time to recover. Is that understood?"

"Clearly, Doctor," Jessica said. "I will not let them come back to work until I am certain they will be fine."

The look on Harvey's face was one of a sulking teenager and even Mike appeared dispirited at the news that he may not be able to bury himself in work. Donna wanted to knock them both upside the head and suggest they take management classes for work-a-holics, but she settled for just giving them both a disapproving stare.

"Any chance for a pain medication?" Harvey asked. He already looked like the effects of the morphine were wearing off on him and Donna could only imagine how cranky he would be during the car ride home.

The doctor creased his lips and stared at Harvey, the cogs in his head obviously calculating the lawyer in front of him, before he finally answered, "Not at this time. If your aches and pains persist, I recommend seeing your doctor and asking for something a bit stronger. For the moment, though, I think 400mg of NSAIDS are the safest. Remember to take them with a meal."

"NSAIDS?" Mike asked.

"Aspirin, Mike," Harvey replied with a scowl. "Let's pick some up before we head home then."

"If it will keep you from chewing anyone's heads off, then that can be arranged," Jessica replied coolly and with her arms crossed as though she were lecturing a child.

He only glared at her and huffed in response before pushing past the doctor to grab his bag. When he attempted to throw it over his right shoulder, he falter and finally allowed it to hang from his hand at his side and Donna tried to hide her wince of sympathy. No one liked being handicapped and vulnerable, least of all Harvey – even for a short period of time – and she knew he was not going to be a pleasant person to be around until he felt back to normal again, but that would not be for a couple of weeks at least. They had endured some rough times, but this one might very well take the cake.

Half an hour later found them all sitting in the car, being surprisingly quiet. The only other hitch out of the hospital was that all patients were required to exit in a wheel chair. Harvey had stubbornly tried to argue way out of having to follow this policy, Jessica quickly poked holes in his flimsy argument by insensitively pointing out that he had the current coordination and balance of a ninety-year-old and that he was not going to meet anyone of real prominence here anyway. Harvey at least knew when he was beat – or at least decided against testing his boss' patience with him – and conceded into riding in the chair for the trip down.

They stopped to pick up the Ibuprofen and a terrible meal of fast food cheeseburger and fries and then they finally hit the road. The quiet of the car was almost unnerving and the usual cause for it was typically that Mike was sleeping but she noticed out of the corner of his eye that he was wide awake and staring out of his own window. He had yet to question her about the absence of his headphones, so she imagined that he must be thinking pretty hard to be that quiet. She let him be. She had her own thoughts to sort through.

Harvey was seated up front and he had slid down in his seat as much as he could without slouching, so she couldn't really see him at all and she wondered if his efforts to walk earlier and his bad mood had given away to exhaustion. Even if he wasn't asleep, she couldn't do anything for him to help ease the pain, so she put him out of her mind.

Donna could see that the sun was almost touching the horizon in the breakthroughs of the buildings that dotted her line of sight, but all she could see was the image of Harvey right after the crash. Even if he had proven himself alive later, she was almost certain that he had in fact been dead in that instant. It was all she had needed to start a line of thought that she had rarely, if ever, contemplated in the last twelve years – a life without Harvey.

She would no longer have the best boss in the world, she would no longer be able to get away with making fun of Louis, and she would most certainly never enjoy her job again the way she enjoyed it now. Without a doubt in her mind, her power around the office would diminish. She was scary, but half of her power came from Harvey's protective arm. Even if Jessica decided to hire her on, nothing would ever be the same again. She would no longer be able to take pleasure in watching Harvey walk cockily down the hall to his office and give her more closing papers with that arrogant smirk on his face. No more horrible gag gifts that he always got her for Christmas at the office and then turned right around and give her an expensive or unique gift for Christmas Day, coupled with a bonus. For someone who painted himself as an uncaring bastard and went to great lengths to prove that's all he was, he could be amazingly thoughtful. Not a single one of her previous boyfriends had ever shown such care for her at any point of the relationship.

There would be no bickering or verbal sparring and she would be pigeonholed back into the slot of a dumb, thoughtless secretary rather than challenged as an equal despite having not attended an Ivy League. She had a couple of friends outside of the office, but none quite as close as Harvey. She was only happy with her job because of him and her faith that despite being a lawyer for the ultra wealthy, he could do some serious good in society, even if it wasn't necessarily the direct force in putting criminals behind bars.

She shuddered at that particularly dark time in both of their lives and she forcefully shoved it from her mind. That was the past and it would stay the past now that she had seen to it that Cameron Dennis had been forced to cut a deal after the damning evidence she had provided to the Attorney General via Jessica.

_So__ face __it, __Donna,_ she thought to herself, _Life __would __suck __without __Harvey __there. __Maybe, __just __maybe, __it__'__s __time__ to __actually __confront __him__ about__ your __feelings __for __him._ Emotions and feelings were often difficult subjects to traverse between the two of them, particularly because of Harvey's apparent disdain for them, but the conversations had gotten easier over time as their friendship deepened. That was very likely because they could read the other so well that it usually only took a few well-placed words to get the other one spilling their guts about whatever was bothering them.

"You should call your mother, Donna."

She jumped as she was taken back out of her thoughts and looked up to the front where she thought Harvey was sleeping. "Did you say something?"

"I said, you should call your mother," he replied quietly. If there was any trace of his previous foul mood in his voice, she could not detect it.

"Oh, sure, and give her a coronary. No thank you."

"We're not even in the hospital anymore. Besides, it's not like you have to go into details."

"Oh really? I think I know my mom better than you, Harvey."

He chuckled but it cut off abruptly. "I've heard you fudge your work days to her. You don't go into the details of being a secretary."

"Because I'm the secretary to a lawyer. All the legal jargon would just go over my mother's head and she knows it."

"Yeah, but if you reassure here enough and emphasize how tired you are, she's more likely to let you go without getting explicit. Trust me on this," he momentarily twisted around to give her an arrogant smirk, but it was followed by a flinch and a pained groan.

"Fine, but if I have to call my mom, then you have to call yours."

He groaned again, which had nothing to do with pain. "Since when did this become a bargain?"

"Since you decided I would be your secretary," Donna replied sweetly.

"You know my mom is happiest in blissful ignorance."

"True. But I don't think she'll have any trouble maintaining her bubble. She's done it for twenty-five years."

"Fine, but I'm waiting until I get back to my condo."

"Fair enough," Donna said and then she rooted through her purse and pulled out her phone. She stared at it, counted to ten, and then pushed her speed dial.

"Donna! How was your trip? You should be back in New York by now."

"Hi, mom, unfortunately there was a bit of a hitch." Silence filled the other end of the phone and Donna wondered for a moment if it had disconnected, but her mother was still on the line. "We were in a car accident."

"Oh my goodness! Is everyone all right?"

"Yes, everyone's fine. Not even a single broken bone. One of Harvey's friends has already come to pick us up and we're on our way back to New York now, so don't feel the need to come up."

"Oh, Donna, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm glad that everyone's okay though. Harvey and that young man – Mike, right?"

"Right," she said,

"They were such gentlemen at the Thanksgiving meal. Nicole called me just after you left to talk about how much fun the kids had with Mike."

"I'll tell him. Thanks for making dinner. Goodbye." She hung up the phone and wished she could wipe the smirk off of Harvey's face without actually causing him harm.

"See, what'd I tell you? Now, what did your mom have to say about me."

"It wasn't about you, genius. Mom was gushing about Mike and how much fun the grandkiddies had playing with him."

"What? Nothing about me?"

"Thanks, Donna. It was fun," Mike said, giving her a tired smile. "I should call my gram. I promised her I would visit once I got back. She's probably wondering where I am."

"Well, if you're late to see her as much as your late getting into work, then I'm sure she's not worried," Harvey grumped at him, apparently chuffed that Donna's mother hadn't said anything about him.

"Hey! I haven't been that late in a month!"

"Most people aren't that late ever."

"Jessica, disregard Harvey. Mike's been good about getting in."

"I will pretend I did not hear any of this," Jessica replied, glancing over at Harvey. "If Harvey disapproved of Mike's tardiness then he should have fired him. So I can only assume that he either hasn't been that tardy or he's useful enough even when he is. It makes no difference to me, just as long as it does not affect Harvey's ability to win. Now, what are the arrangements for the evening?"

"We're going to my place," Harvey replied immediately.

"I would appreciate it if you could drop me off at my apartment," Mike said.

"Mike, do you really think it's a good idea to be by yourself? I mean, you may not have serious injuries, but something could happen," Donna said with more than a little worry in her voice. Then it hardened, "And knowing you, if something _does_ happen, you're probably going to ignore it and go on with life as usual."

"But, Donna, I've been living alone for years. I haven't died yet."

"Only God knows why you haven't. I've wondered the same thing about Harvey."

Harvey frowned up at her through the rear view mirror. "I live perfectly fine. It's hardly a dangerous neighborhood."

"What I mean is, you don't eat! Neither of you do. It's a wonder you haven't starved to death, Harvey. I think you should stay the night, Mike, and then go home in the morning. Jessica?"

"It might be safer for Mike to stay overnight. Do you need me there for any reason?"

"No, we're not completely handicapped," Harvey replied with an edge to his voice. Back to being reminded of just how helpless and vulnerable he happened to be right then.

"I think I can manage them both."

Donna could see that Jessica was smiling at her from the rearview mirror. "It's a wonder how you keep your sanity."

"Sometimes I wonder myself."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you, everyone for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feedback, as always, is most appreciated! <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Wow, so sorry for the late update on this. O.o Last couple of weeks have been busy with Christmas stuff, but I made it extra long! Forgive me? Thank you, once again, for being such an awesome audience. I always look forward to reading your reviews! =)**

**Chapter 7**

"Hey, I was thinking about visiting my gram today. She wants to meet you, Harvey. And you too, Donna."

Harvey looked at Mike with an expression of utter disbelief. Then he winced, turned back to staring at the ceiling from where he'd been lying on his couch, and said, "That's not happening, kid."

"Well, tomorrow then?"

"Why is this suddenly so important?'

"Because it's the holiday weekend and, for once, you're not busy! So no excuses."

"Except that I was in a car wreck!"

"He has a point, Harvey. You don't have work. For once," Donna replied from where she was making them sandwiches and she couldn't help but smirk as she thought of ways that Harvey might use to dodge meeting Mike's grandmother.

She noticed with a pang that he hadn't bothered to try and crane his neck to see her. "What kind of drugs have you been smoking and why did you share them with Donna? All of my muscles are killing me! You did see me get up this morning, right?"

Donna grimaced again just at the mere memory. They had not gone straight to bed when Jessica had dropped them off at Harvey's apartment – it had only been 5 o'clock! – so they stayed up to watch a movie or two. Mike had taken the guest bedroom and Harvey had insisted Donna sleep in his bed with him rather than on the couch – which was the only other option. Once morning had rolled around, Donna found her muscles stiff more than sore and though the ache was terrible, it was manageable. Harvey had barely managed to summon the will to move, but with the promise of breakfast waiting for him he forced himself. Donna would swear she heard every single one of his joints crack and his back was as stiff as a board, so he kept it bowed like a hunchback. She noticed that he still held his left arm close to his stomach, like it was in an invisible sling. Suffice it to say, Harvey did not look much improved from the day before.

"Mike, I do think it's probably best that we all rest for the day. Tomorrow, Harvey and I will go with you to meet your grandmother. Does that sound fair enough to you?"

Harvey mumbled something underneath his breath that she could not hear, but then in a louder voice said, "Fine! I'll go and see your grandmother. Why in the world would she want to meet me anyway? You've told her I'm a bastard, right?"

"Everyday," Mike replied with a rueful grin. "Apparently she detects that deep down, you're really an okay guy who is giving her grandson the opportunity of a lifetime."

Harvey shuddered at the nauseating way his associate chose to describe him and he said, "Well, I'll do my best to change that impression tomorrow."

"Don't you dare be mean to my grammy!"

"Jesus, Harvey, the world is not going to end if a little old lady knows you're a nice guy. You can't fool everyone all the time," Donna said.

Harvey really wanted to look at Donna, but his aching shoulder wouldn't allow it so he simply settled for a huff and then he refused to talk for the rest of the afternoon. The only time he moved was to get up for the bathroom and when Donna needed a seat he had to move his legs and then put them back on her lap again. Normally she would make a snarky remark about having to put up with his smelly feet, but one look at him suggested to her that teasing him was not a good idea at the moment. So, instead, she scooted down the couch away from them and closer to him, but he appeared to take no notice of this as he kept his eyes closed.

Mike finally decided to leave not long after lunch. "Well, I'm going over to see my gram today. Call me if you want to meet her tomorrow. I hope you start feeling better tomorrow."

"How are _you_ feeling?" Harvey suddenly asked, cracking an eye open at Mike who was staring at him from behind the couch.

Mike cocked his head. "What?"

"You weren't chatty at all today. That's always a cause for concern, even as nice as the silence was," Harvey muttered as he frowned up at Mike.

"I feel fine. Well, I'm sore, just like you are, but I am fine."

Harvey gave him a look that expressly said he wasn't buying it, but he did not say anything and merely closed his eyes again.

However, Donna was now frowning up at Mike. Harvey had a point: Mike did not seem his usual cheerful self, even taking into consideration the effect the car crash would have on him. It was difficult to forget the way he had flashbacked in the car to his parent's and now she wondered if he really was okay.

"Mike, take care of yourself. If you need to talk, call us," Donna said, with a little emphasis on the 'call.' "Don't think I haven't forgotten what happened in the car crash. Are you sure you're okay?"

She saw him swallow nervously and she was immediately concerned.

"Yes, I swear to you, I am fine."

"Fine. See you tomorrow then," Harvey snapped at him and then he sighed again and closed his eyes.

The rest of the day was spent doing as little activity as possible. Donna did, however, have to excuse herself for a few hours.

"Harvey, I'm going back to my apartment. There are some things that I need to take care of and pick up."

He gave her a look that she could not quite describe, but then he turned his attention back to the V where Jurassic Park was playing. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She blinked at him and replied, "I'm coming back! The only thing I can do at home is watch TV. Might as well do it here with 40" High-def flat screen and soft leather couches."

"I knew you were only interested in my money."

Donna smiled and patted his leg, before he moved it so she could get up. That was the first real moment she felt was normal since the car crash, but she knew it would be a while before they returned their normal dynamic; they both knew she was coming back because Harvey was, for all intents and purposes, handicapped Making a decent meal would be difficult. He'd actually needed help pulling on his shirt that morning. He still needed a babysitter but the quickest way to get on his bad side was to tel him that. So after grabbing her purse and her little suitcase, she headed out.

Once Donna was in the back of a cab, she allowed herself to contemplate to the situation and her own dilemma. She had yet to speak of her feelings to Harvey. Somehow, the timing just did not seem quite right and she thought it might be better to wait a week or two until they had calmed down from the wreck. These types of situations always left all parties off-balance and needy, so she wanted to be certain that any feelings he reciprocated aren't simply byproducts of that.

Ever since the crash, she had been paying closer attention to his body language and actions. _Actions __speak __louder __than __words_, as the old adage went and the messages she was getting were hardly subtle. When they curled up on his bed at the hospital, she had felt him shiver ever so slightly when she hooked her leg around his. Granted, he hardly played the role of uncaring jackass in front of her because she knew him so well that keeping the façade was pointless, but even so, he did _not_ have to curl his arm around here so that she was secure to the bed. It hadn't done his right shoulder any good but then having her there might have been symptomatic of that post-crash neediness. Except while she had been desperate to see her boys and know that they were uninjured, she certainly hadn't felt the need to curl up with either of them, so why had Harvey insisted? She seriously doubted it was because he was needier than her. It must have been the morphine.

The night before, though, when he had insisted she share his bed with him he had followed her as she had gotten out her sleep clothes and put away her old clothes – she had not lost enough sense to change in front of him. She wrote it off as his being concerned that she would be a stubborn idiot and would go to the couch as soon as he fell asleep but she got in without complaint. As he had pointed it out, they had slept in the same bed before so she was not about to create a situation over nothing.

Finally, the look that he gave her just before she left – she thought for the briefest moment that he had not wanted her to leave. He had covered it quickly enough with his mask and then he learned that she would be back, so he had relaxed and pretended not to think anything of it.

She had to concede that Harvey might very well have feelings for her. Scratch that – she knew Harvey had feelings for her. How deep they ran was the question. He definitely cared more deeply for her than the bimbos he took home for one night stands, but was the feeling deep enough for a lasting relationship? Several years ago she remembered one particular moment when he had approached her about them. It was after hours in the office, with only a few struggling associates remaining along with Harvey. Jessica had been on his ass about this particular case, so he had been more agitated than usual and Donna had come by with coffee in an effort to pep him up and help him focus. At one point, he had slammed the folder shut and threw it across the, sliding across the floor somehow still intact. Then he rested his chin on his hands and glared at his desk across the way.

Donna had sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt him jump then, but she paid it little mind, assuming that he had forgotten she was there. "Don't worry about the case too much, Harvey. You'll find what you're looking for. You always do."

"Please don't touch me," he said in a hard voice, moving away from her even as he turned to look at her.

The lighting was low and she had studied and studied his expression to identify just what he was trying to tell her, and then it suddenly clicked: lustful. Her eyes widened and she immediately stood up from the couch. "No, Harvey."

"Why not?" Was he actually pleading?

"That can _never_ happen. We can't be together. Us, together, would never work."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I only know from experience what happens to relationships like ours when they go farther than they should. Do you really want to ruin our friendship? That's what would happen." Donna shifted uncomfortably, noticing that the expression had shifted to one of hurt. "I'm sorry, Harvey." She opened her mouth to say more, but nothing would come and so she snatched up her purse and walked out of his office.

He did not chase her.

The next morning, when he had come in, he acted as if nothing had happened, and although the memory troubled her for some time, she went along with him and nothing ever came of it. He never brought it up and he certainly never approached her again about expanding their relationship. It was what her mother had been referring to when she mentioned Donna already shooting him down once before. In hindsight, she regretted shooting him down so fast. She did not regret the decision to not have a relationship, but she had given less classier individuals a better chance of proving themselves to her than she gave Harvey. Yet he had never held it over her head and never confronted her about it. He appeared to pretend that it had never happened.

_Mom__ was __right,_ Donna thought grimly as she finally got out of the cab and paid her fare. _If__ we__'__re __going __to __have __a__ relationship, __I__'__m__ the __one __who __has __to __start __it. _Her thoughts continued to weigh heavily on her as she changed out the clothes and ran a few more errands.

When she re-entered the apartment, she was pleased to hear the shower was running and decided since it was five in the evening she might as well start on a simple dinner to get him eating. He had eaten breakfast, but only picked at his sandwich for lunch and after Mike had worn him down, his mood was sour; Harvey did not eat when his mood was anything less than content.

He came walking out in flannel pants, with his towel around his shoulders, and one of his white undershirts in his right hand.

"What have I said about eating shirtless at the table?"

"My condo, my rules," Harvey replied with one of his usual smirks on his face.

"I'm making the dinner. You wear the shirt!"

Harvey tipped his head back to peer down at her with a knowing smile. "But the whole reason why you're fixing dinner is because you're concerned about my eating. I don't wear the shirt, I don't eat, but you want me to. So, I win this round."

She put her hands on her hips and there was energy in her eyes that he only saw when she accepted a challenge. "Do you really want me to call Jessica?"

His mouth fell open and he glared. "That's cheating!"

"When it comes to your welfare, Harvey, I'm allowed to cheat. Now, shirt!"

"Well, I was coming out to ask if you could help me put it on," he grumbled.

"Don't pout. Makes you look two," Donna replied, taking the shirt from his hand. She could not help but linger on the seat belt bruise. It was still very much a splotchy black and blue, not unlike her own, but it still stunned her to see it contrast so sharply with the paleness of the rest of his skin.

"Well, are you going to help me?"

"Actually, mind if I look at your shoulder."

"I didn't know you had your medical degree."

She sighed and gave him a look of exasperation. "It's more than a little odd that you're having so much trouble with your shoulder when Mike and I aren't having any difficulty at all. You're right, I don't have a medical degree, but I have a basic medical knowledge and I would like to look at your shoulder to determine whether you should go back to the hospital or even if you should go to work on Monday."

"You wouldn't be cruel enough to deprive me of work."

"As much as it will doubtlessly drive me crazy to keep your workaholicism under control…" She said through gritted teeth.

He only sighed and walked over to his couch and sat down. She followed and sat on the couch next to him, gently prodding the area of his shoulder. It did surprise her that his shoulder did not seem to be his problem as he sat perfectly still, but as she went closer to his neck he suddenly shifted and recoiled. "Sorry," she muttered, but he didn't say anything. She noted that his bruise appeared to have spread a little bit more than her own bruise, which had a very defined edge of her seat belt.

"Harvey, I don't think it's your shoulder that's the problem."

"Well, my whole shoulder and arm hurt. They hurt enough to make doing anything difficult. Now, my shirt?"

"All right here." Donna picked up his shirt and put it on over his head. It took some wrestling, but eventually she managed to get his left arm through the correct shirt sleeve and then she left him to get his right arm through the other sleeve.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Donna said, returning to the sauce on the stove and stirring it a little bit more.

"Now, Donna, I'm curious. You've seen my seatbelt bruise yet I've never even seen yours. So, when are you going to share?" Harvey asked with a lecherous grin and Donna rolled her eyes.

"In your dreams, Harvey."

"Now, don't be like that. I need to check and see if you should go back to hospital or if you should even be going to work tomorrow."

It was so very tempting to knock him out with the pot she had in her hand, but she had to restrain herself since it was full of steaming spaghetti.

"Don't you dare make me murder you before the night is over. You realize the jury would never convict."

"But we're not in Chicago!"

"The headline will go like this 'Heroic Woman Knocks off Jackass Lawyer Harvey Specter.' And all the people will cheer!"

"Not unless I can get Mike to paint you as a scary bitch with a case of misandry. It wouldn't be that hard. All he needs to do is get Louis on board with a few associates and you're cooked."

"You would honestly want Louis' testimony to put me in jail?"

Harvey actually appeared to contemplate it for a moment and then he winced.. "You're right. For once."

"Every time."

"I would much prefer Louis go to jail first. Go free on my murder."

"Murder? But it was suicide! Now, dinner."

"Don't give me a lot."

"Fine, but you have to eat your vegetables."

"Yes, mom," Harvey replied.

The rest of the night, was spent with Harvey killing her at Monopoly until she got her revenge against him in Sorry! with the movie Die Hard: With a Vengeance playing in the background.

+~.Suits.~+

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Specter. And you, Donna. The way Mike talks about you, you're almost like mythology." Mike's grandmother was smiling at them, shaking their hands as they offered.

"Oh really? Now which archetype would I fill?" Harvey asked him with a shrewd look in his eyes as he glanced over at Mike.

The associate scowled at first, but then he smiled and said, "Crappy Anti-hero."

"Not Achilles, I hope."

"Maybe Odysseus."

"I'm all right with that. Odysseus was always known for being clever. He suits me."

"I think you're Paris," Donna interjected. She could not help but smile at the painful frown Harvey shot her.

"But Paris is such a pansy!"

"You and those suits. I always wondered."

"This is what they're always like, gram," Mike said as he rolled his eyes.

"I figured as much," gram replied with a twinkle in her eye.

"I'm sorry, here," Harvey said, turning around to grab the food he and Donna had picked up, but he stalled and winced as he pulled his left shoulder again. Donna reached for it instead.

"That's my job, remember? What are you paying me for?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against getting cheap shots now in case Donna removed his head later and simply closed his mouth and shook his head. She started taking out the food and spreading it around on the table – hamburgers, including a milkshake for everyone but Harvey.

It would sound ridiculous, but Harvey would not deny that he was a little more than a bit nervous meeting Mike's grandmother. Perhaps not nervous so much as off-base and completely out of his comfort zone. He was used to meeting clients and opposing council in his three-piece power suits all alone, with nothing but his mind and perhaps a tiny folder of evidence standing between him and either absolute victory or abject defeat. Now, however, he was dressed down in jeans and a pullover, meeting a little old lady that was, by Mike's accounts, sweeter than sugar if not a little wily. He had to be charming without being biting or overly cocky and if he botched this, Mike and Donna might very well plot his murder together.

"Mike told me about the car wreck on Friday. Are you all right?" Gram asked, after unwrapping her burger.

"I'm doing fine. A little sore," Harvey replied before taking a bite of his burger.

Gram looked at him as if she knew he was not being completely honest, but she only said, "Well, it's a wonder none of you were more hurt than you are. A wreck on the highway? Sounds terrible."

"Yes, it was very unpleasant," Donna said, "but it could have been worse." She shot a look at Mike who stared at her with the usual puppy innocence and she made a mental note to check on him later in the week. "How was your Thanksgiving, gram? Mike was painting a terrible picture of utter boredom while we were on the way to my parents."

"Michael," Gram said with a shake of her head and a click of her tongue, "you should not have worried about me. I had plenty of fun. James down the hall played three games of Chess with me and I beat him soundly. He claims he let me win."

"Sounds like he's begging for another chess game with you, Mrs. Ross," Harvey said.

"Mr. Specter, it's gram, please."

"Then call me Harvey."

"Oh, we have a game later this afternoon, and then I'm supposed to play checkers with Linda. Don't think I'm not having fun here, Michael," she said, patting his hand affectionately.

"I know, gram, I just worry about you."

"You're too _young_ to worry! You're supposed to be enjoying yourself."

"Joy? What is this joy? If I recall correctly, I seem to be working all the time," Mike said, stopping to suck on his milkshake as he stared pointedly at Harvey.

"I was under the impression that you enjoyed lots of work. My mistake," Harvey shot at him.

"You _both_ enjoy work too much. Gram, I think they're feeding each other's addiction," Donna said, giving the older woman a conspiratorial wink.

"You're probably right, Donna. It might be time for an intervention."

"Well, if you want to slow Mike's progression up the corporate ladder, be my guest."

"More like we'll lock you both in your apartments, so you won't even think about stopping by the office on the weekends," Donna said with an exaggerated sigh.

"We both know that won't work. Rich people don't stay out of trouble on the weekends either."

"Then we'll demote you to social security advocates. Everyone knows the government won't work on the weekends."

"Uggh, that sounds so boring when you put it like that," Harvey said and he made a sour face to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, I'll stick with business law too," Mike said as he looked at Harvey's face.

Gram chuckled at them all. "Now, Mike, I think you forgot to mention how much fun your friends can be. Now, how about a game of Uno?"

"How about Poker? That's my kind of game."

"No gambling allowed in the nursing home, Harvey, or I'd take you up on that," Grammy said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Shoot."

+~.Suits.~+

"Gee, Harvey, was your family that abusive?" Louis asked as he saw Harvey and Donna walk into the elevator.

"Do you even have a family or were you always the boy your parents hid away in shame?" Harvey sniped back at him, choosing to focus his glare on the elevator doors as they closed. Although he had insisted on putting on his usual three-piece suit, his appearance was not near as refined as it normally was. He had combed his hair, but there was no gel and sleep had completely evaded him the night before so dark rings circled his eyes. His left shoulder was paining him even more today, so he once again held it stiffly to his side. His shoulder had felt loose after his shower, so another one after work sounded like a fine idea.

"For your information, my Thanksgiving was close to perfect," Louis replied, bristling in indignation in a way that never failed to amuse Harvey.

"Good for you," the younger lawyer said and Donna glanced at him in concern. Normally he could not resist teasing Louis and rubbing his usually better fortune in the man's face, but Harvey was uncharacteristically silent in the elevator. Just as she was analyzing him, she noticed him flex his left arm uncomfortably and he sighed quietly in agitation. She made a note to consult Jessica into possibly drugging him and dragging him to the hospital after work.

Louis also seemed to be perturbed by the silent treatment and he could not resist openly staring at Harvey.

Finally the elevators opened to reveal none other than Jessica Pearson herself standing in wait with her hands on her hips as though she was ready to launch into a lecture. "Harvey," she addressed him immediately.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Jessica?" Harvey asked stepping out onto the floor with Donna next to him, the same purposely neutral look on his face.

The older woman raised an eyebrow at this. Normally Harvey could not resist giving her a cocky smile while oozing an insufferable amount of confidence, but as much as he might try to hide it, she saw the exhaustion. "I want to see you and your associate in your office in five minutes."

He nodded, but then he asked, "Can we make that fifteen?"

Now _that_ was a little bit more like the Harvey she was familiar with. Only he would actually try to negotiate with his boss. "Fifteen it is then," Jessica replied and walked away.

Once they were a safe enough distance from the elevator, Harvey reached into his pocket and handed his phone to Donna. "Text Mike. Tell him he needs to get here in five minutes or he's done."

She winced in sympathy and quickly texted to Mike, desperately hoping he was already on his bike right at that moment: _You__ better __be __here.__ Jessica __wants __to __speak __with __you._

Harvey was busy reading the e-mails he received over the short break when he saw Mike walking quickly towards his office and he glanced at his watch and scowled. It was one minute till Jessica was supposed to arrive – there she already was walking down the hall. Mike dropped his messenger bag behind Donna's desk and he opened the office door in time for Jessica to come in. He gave Harvey a sheepish smile, but it was returned with a look that said 'You're lucky you got here in time.' The older lawyer was surprised when Jessica beckoned Donna in and he figured that this meeting would retain to the car crash. Sure enough.

"You are all to go home at noon," Jessica said in a no nonsense voice. "In fact, I'm not even sure any of you should have come in today."

"Why?"

"Don't bullshit me, Harvey. You're in pain and it looks like you haven't been sleeping." He sighed. "And I am sure Mike and Donna are still feeling sore. You and Mike have done stellar work the last five months and I would say it's about time that work got rewarded with a temporarily lightened work schedule."

"We're fine," Harvey protested, but he immediately shut his mouth when Jessica's expression hardened.

"Harvey, you are going to do as I tell you, or I will assign all of your new cases to Louis."

"You wouldn't."

"You wanna try me?"

"Fine. For how long?"

"I don't want to see either of you here past noon the whole week."

"The whole week? What do you expect me to do when I leave?"

"I expect you to relax," Jessica said and then she glanced at Donna. "I also expect you not to drive Donna crazy. You still need her on your side, Harvey."

He sighed in resignation finally. "All right done."

"Wonderful. You all have a good day."

Once Jessica had left the sight line of his office he turned to Mike in his office chair. "This is why you need to be on time! You're lucky I got her to meet us at a quarter after rather than at five after."

Mike paled. "Uhh…I will be on time. It's just hard biking in the cold – "

"Then take a damn cab, Mike! I think we pay you enough. Just _get_ here! Now go find as much information as you can on this engine prototype. That will be your work for the day," Harvey said, slapping a folder down in front of his desk.

Mike nodded submissively and snatched it up, stopping on his way back to his cubicle to duck down and get his messenger bag.

Donna said nothing, but patted his better shoulder in comfort before she returned to her desk. He stared at her a bit longer before he returned to his e-mail reading and decided to treat Donna sometime this week for being so patient with him as always.

It felt like Harvey had hardly done any work before he glanced at the clock and noticed the time on his computer which read 11:55. Right on time, Jessica walked by his office and gave him a pointed glare. He put the lid down on his laptop to show he was finishing up with work for the day; Donna was already powering down her computer and putting her things in her bag. He probably better stop by Mike's and make sure he didn't try to sneak any papers home.

It was of no surprise to him to find two stacks of folders on both sides of Mike's desk, almost like sentinels to make sure he was getting his work done.

"I hope you realize what time it is," Harvey said, coming up to his cubicle to tower over him.

"Yes, I know, but Louis wants me to do all these briefs by tomorrow," Mike said, with a grimace.

"He's not allowed to."

"I can't just say no."

"Sure you can. Tell him he needs to take up with Jessica. That will put him in his place," Harvey said with an exasperated tone, wondering why in the hell Mike couldn't stand up to the man for once.

"You think Jessica will back me up on this?" Harvey didn't say a word. "Right, stupid question. I'm packing up."

Harvey glanced around to see that Greg seemed to have little in the way of work to do and it only seemed fair that one of Louis' trolls got the work instead. He walked around the cubicle, judging the stack critically. It could not be more than a foot high and as long as he portioned the way to his right hand, his left arm should be able to take it. That's what he told himself.

The moment he picked up the folders he felt his something slip in his shoulder and then his vision went completely white. The next thing he knew, he was staring up at a very pale and fearful Mike with several associates on their feet and crowding around him. "Harvey! What did you _do?_"

"My shoulder," Harvey tried to say but it came out more of a whisper. His shoulder felt like it was on fire! Beads of sweat were collecting on his forehead and he shivered uncontrollably from the pain that was emanating from his neck, even as he tried to leverage himself up with his right arm, but Mike pushed him back down.

"Don't move! Rachel, go get Donna!"

It seemed like only seconds later the secretary was racing down the hall, with Jessica close behind her.

"What did you try to do!"

"Move some folders," Harvey mumbled a bit more strongly, but his eyes were glazed in pain. "Help?" He asked, reaching out to her with his right hand.

"Sure you don't want me to call an ambulance?"

"I can walk," he replied, but his voice had lost strong quality again. "Just help me up."

It took a little effort, but they did manage to get him onto his feet, but his shoulder flared and he had to lean heavily on Mike. "Ray's downstairs waiting, so let's go," Donna said with more anger that he had seen directed towards him in a long time. "Now, tell me how exactly you hurt yourself."

"I tried to pick up some folders and I felt like my shoulder slipped,"

"Slipped? That never sounds promising. What the hell were you doing picking anything up with that arm?"

"It was just some files!"

"It's always something, Harvey. I'm glad at least that I don't have to convince you to go see a doctor now."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! =D**

**Chapter 8**

"Well, Mr. Specter, fancy meeting you again."

Harvey and Donna both glanced up at those words and then Harvey groaned. "Oh no, not you."

David Reeft gave him a wan smile. The older man with gray hair and the immaculate white doctor's coat was standing at the door, clutching x-rays in his hand.

"You're the doctor who lived on the same floor as Harvey when that apartment fire happened," Donna said, nodding to herself as she scanned her memories and placed them. She remembered now that she had simply gotten a glimpse of him when she and Mike had tagged along to help Harvey pack for an extended leave.

"Yes, he's the guy who kept assaulting me."

"Semantics. I was saving your life," David replied and then he stepped up and his held his hand out to Donna, who shook it. "David Reeft."

"Donna. Knowing Harvey, I'll believe your side of the events first."

Harvey scowled at her. "I have never lied to you."

"No, but you have a tendency to stretch the truth. You gave the paramedics a hard time when you came out, I can only imagine what you were like trapped up there," Donna replied back, just as snappily, but she put an affectionate hand on his good shoulder to show she was teasing.

This only seemed irritate Harvey anymore, so he redirected his anger at an equally worthy subject. "So, what's the news?" He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead as though the room was uncomfortably warm. His shoulder felt like it was on fire and he clutched at his left arm with a death grip as he fought to keep the shoulder stable.

"Your collar bone is broken," David replied, clipping up the X-rays. Even to their untrained eyes they could see the clear shift of the bone along the small fracture, like tectonic plates that had moved. "And this was not a bone that just broke. You could have only broken it in that car crash you mentioned."

"Then how come it didn't present itself before now?" Harvey asked, the tension clear in his voice; his eyes were narrowed and burned with fury.

"It did. The doctor who examined your x-rays at the other hospital was incompetent. There should have been a definite fracture in your bone from the start," David replied pointing back at the fissure.

"How come my shoulder has not hurt like this before now?" Harvey gritted out. Goddamn, he was tired of doctors and all of their bullshit. They couldn't answer one simple question!

"I'm not sure, but I have a theory," David replied. He was eyeing the lawyer as though waited to be allowed to continue.

Harvey nodded with grudging respect. He would give the man credit that he could already see the signs of his impatience and growing pain, but he felt like a ticking time bomb and there was a nagging feeling that the doctor was playing with his detonator, whether by accident or on purpose, he couldn't tell. "A theory? I am becoming increasingly more confident in your abilities."

"It's just like any other scientific theory, supported by mountains of data from cases such as yours, but I can't prove beyond a doubt that this is exactly what happened to you." Harvey glared at him and he continued. "Anyway, you broke your collar bone along the line of your seat belt. That was a nasty bruise you received from it too. All of that irritation and swelling held the collar bone together, but once the swelling started to go down…" He just gestured toward him with a hand and Harvey nodded sullenly in understanding.

"Why didn't I have a broken collar bone? We were in the same wreck," Donna asked. She squeezed Harvey's good shoulder gently and she felt the tension leave it as he drew a deep breath.

"It's amazing that neither you have more broken bones. It has nothing to do with weakness or strength of any kind," David replied, his eyes glancing over to Harvey briefly who was staring at him with a strange intensity. Then he met Donna's eyes again. "You were in the passenger seat, right?"

"Yes."

"And Harvey was driving?"

"Yes," she said with a little bit more impatience.

"That would be enough of a difference to give him a broken collar bone over you."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, assuming your seat settings were the same, his steering wheel is still much closer to him than your airbag compartment. When you hit and your airbags went off, he would have been knocked back by his airbag because it was so close to him whereas you would have been _caught_ by your airbag. In wrecks like that, the momentum that sent him forward would have made a much harsher impact against his airbag than yours and you often get broken collar bones in that kind of situation."

"All right then, what can I do about it?" Harvey asked.

"You have to wear a sling for a month."

The lawyer sighed in frustration and nodded.

"It's not that easy. Collar bones are tricky because they're so hard to make sure they heal properly. It's not like you can splint it like an arm or a leg. There are a few rules you need to follow in order to properly heal. First, you _must_ wear the sling 24/7 and make sure it's tight. The straps do have a tendency to slip. The only time you should have the sling off is to take showers."

"I've broken my arm before. I know the rules."

David clicked his tongue in frustration and glared at Harvey. "Let me finish! I would not recommend sleeping while lying down. You could easily roll and hurt yourself and, again, move the bone out of alignment. We recommend sleeping on the couch."

Harvey stared. "You're serious?"

"If you want it to heal properly. Now the third – this isn't a rule as much as it is a recommendation – you should stay with someone for the majority of your time in the sling, especially in these early weeks when you're in pain. You will need the extra help."

"I'll be staying with him," Donna immediately supplied and then she turned to look at Harvey.

If she expected to see gratitude and was disappointed she certainly did not show it. Harvey would have slouched in a sulk if his shoulder had allowed him. The injury to his right shoulder was still fresh in his mind and it had taken ages for his arm to back to the same sort of mobility that he had had before, but more than that, it made some of the most basic tasks suddenly a challenge. Already Donna had to help him get a shirt on and once they finally felt like cooking, what else would she have to do for him? Cook for him, cut up his meat for him? Hell, he had discovered just Sunday how painful it was to try and put socks on and _Donna_ had ended up having to do that for him as well. He felt like a toddler that had to bed dressed by mommy. The next few weeks were going to be hell.

Harvey sighed again as he adjusted his shoulder and then bit his lip to keep from groaning in pain. "Do I get any special pain killers?"

"Did you get any pain killers for that broken arm?"

"That was thirty years ago."

David simply smiled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. For really effective pain killers, you either have to be monitored by a medical staff or recovering. I assume you're going back to work soon?"

"Tomorrow," Harvey answered. Donna squeezed his shoulder again, but not in an entirely pleasant manner.

"Only on my say so, bud."

"I'm not terminally ill!"

"And neither is your job security."

He huffed, his temper rising and turned back to David, "So what can you give me?"

"Well, since I know you, I might be willing to subscribe Vicodin, but you'd have to give me one hell of an argument."

Harvey gave him a withering glare. "That's addictive; no thanks!"

"Over extended periods of time."

"I'm not about to accept drugs so that I can walk around the firm like some lawyer version of Dr. House."

"House is a work of fiction and I know you know that a doctor with that kind of a problem would have either been fired or put into serious rehab before he lost his medical license."

Harvey gave him an agreeable albeit sarcastic smile and then said, "I've been given Vicodin before. I didn't like its side effects."

"Well, Vicodin and all the other painkillers share many of the same side effects – that's the entire point of the drug. My recommendation: aspirin."

"Aspirin's weak."

"In my experience, it's proven more effective than some of the other pain killers that are being marketed out there, so you're just going to have to deal with that," David said. He went to the door and spoke quietly to someone just outside and then he closed the door again and said, "After I have given the okay to remove your sling, you should probably attend physical therapy for about a month; how frequently will be determined by the progress of your recovery. Is there anything I said that that needs to be made clearer?"

"No," Harvey replied, the answer hardly more than a grumble.

"All right then. I'll help you put on your sling and then you can get out of here. I recommend spending the day resting."

"That was already on the agenda, Dr. Reeft," Donna said, her eyes still fixed on Harvey. She seemed to be studying his reaction, but it hadn't changed from the pained sulk. She could tell already that it was going to be a long couple of weeks and she had a feeling that their friendship would still be as strong and stable as it ever was, or it would fracture and break under the pressure of being in such close quarters for so long.

+~.Suits.~+

"Mike, how was he last night?"

"Really mood, but otherwise no change," Mike said quietly, glancing up from his desk to Donna. His eyes were deeply stained with exhaustion and he looked about ready to pillow the papers on his desk. Well, he only had half an hour before Jessica kicked him out of the firm at noon once more.

It had been two days since Harvey had gotten the sling and for the most part the rest of the day and the night had been quiet. She had done her best to keep his spirits up as well as his appetite and he got Ibuprofen every four hours, but from the creases around Harvey's eyes, she didn't think the aspirin was doing much to take the edge off the pain.

On Tuesday, Mike had offered to spend that night with Harvey, and she accepted. The last thing she needed, right off the bat, was for Harvey to get sick of her. She could see the telltale signs of his annoyance and it would not be long, she felt, before both she and Mike might end up banned from his apartment so that he could have even just a little time alone. Mike had left him there alone for the first half of the day and the older lawyer couldn't resist calling Donna and asking her far too many mundane questions about her day and what she was doing. She could translate Harvey speech though: he was bored out of his mind. She was going back that night and bringing some new entertainment would be a good idea, for both their sakes.

Nothing, however, seemed to grate his nerves more than his newfound handicapped status. Opening a beer, opening a can of pop, preparing soup, grilling sandwiches, putting on clothes – even pants – suddenly became monumental tasks. He also learned that climbing onto his own counter to get a Tupperware of hot chocolate was more than a little difficult after it slipped from his fingers and spilled all over the floor. Donna had bought the ingredients for his recipe the other day and they were now stashed under her desk as she prepared to head over, but that had ruined his mood for the evening.

By far, though, the worst part of this entire ordeal: Harvey could not sleep. She had originally waved it off without concern; everyone had their occasional sleepless nights. Tonight, though, she would get a sedative of sorts to try and knock him out. She hoped it would work, otherwise he would go insane not just from insomnia but from inactivity because she would not allow him back to work until he had shown some general improvement.

"It's kind of stupid," Mike suddenly said, dragging Donna out of her thoughts. "He claims he can't sleep sitting. Who knew he could be so finicky about the way he sleeps."

"Some people are stuck in their ways, Mike. But remember, he's in pain! A lot of pain. That would keep anyone awake. I really hoped that he would be tired enough to go to sleep last night, but maybe tonight he will. I think his brain is fried enough. Now, I'm heading over there. If he doesn't sleep again, you probably won't see me tomorrow."

"All right, see ya," Mike said and then he sighed and started putting the papers of the briefs he was doing back in the files before Ms. Pearson came by and stand over him like she did the other day.

Jessica happened to be on her way to do just that when Donna ran into her on her way out and whispered quietly, "He's still not sleeping. I'm going try sleeping pills tonight, but all of this may end with me knocking him out with his own baseball bat."

The boss smiled but she said, "Do what you can and let me know how it goes."

"Of course. Don't expect him back tomorrow."

"I won't. Try not to kill him, Donna. I still need my best closer."

Donna sighed wistfully and said, "That's going to be the hard part."

Jessica couldn't help but smile at that.

+~.Suits.~+

"Harvey, you still alive in here?" Donna called out after she knocked and opened the door. Even from the doorway she could see Harvey's dark head from over his couch, but he said nothing and only Jaws could be heard playing out on the TV. "Harvey?"

"What?" He snapped, not even looking back at her.

"Just wondering if you were still awake."

"Of course I'm awake. I haven't slept in two days, why should I sleep now?'

"Looking for lunch?"

"No."

"Well, too bad. Here it is anyway," Donna said, pulling out a few bags containing Chinese takeout and placed it next to his feet on the floor, but he only gave it a disdainful look, and then he turned his glare back to the TV. "Just so you know, if I'm dishing it out, you're going to eat _all _of it."

He turned to scowl at her. "Well, I'm not going to eat it."

She stopped momentarily with her dishing out of the food to glare right back at him. "Don't make me force feed you."

"I'd like to see you try," he snarled back at her, turning to look at her over the couch.

"Don't tempt me."

"Then don't make me eat."

She sighed and turned her eyes to the side to try a different tactic now that he was mulishly defying her and purposely pressing her buttons. He was _trying_ to get a rise out of her. If he couldn't get sleep and was unhappy then he could only get satisfaction out of making everyone else around him miserable.

"You know, having a big lunch is like giving yourself a sedative. You can't tell me you weren't sleepy after my mom's Thanksgiving dinner."

"That was Thanksgiving. I don't see anything remotely close to a feast there," he replied, nodding to the food.

"Just eat it and we'll see what happens."

"Nothing. Don't think Mike didn't try to encourage me to eat as much pizza as I possibly could and I _still_ couldn't sleep."

She stopped to narrow her eyes as though he had just issued a challenge at her, and then she nodded to accept it.

+~.Suits.~+

Donna could not believe it. Even after a big helping of stir fry, rice, several eggrolls and a fortune cookie, Harvey was still staring at the TV, very much wide awake but still with glazed eyes. Now Mike had had bruised eyes like he had come out on the wrong end of a fist fight, but Harvey looked like a burglar who had done a liberal job of painting his eyes but that was not even the most disturbing part of his appearance.

She was used to him sauntering around the firm, gliding down the halls like a barracuda, with his ever confident smirk and oozing egoism. His wit was constant and sharp, he never let a detail slip past him, and, most importantly, he stayed ahead of Louis and the entire firm as the best closer in New York City. The man she saw now was a mere shadow of his former self. His skin was pale and waxy, his hair looked greasy and was ruffled, and there was a terrible defeated look in his eyes. He was tired and in pain and she thought that perhaps he felt that even after something like a car accident – even as serious as it was – he had lost the edge that made him great and everything would be going downhill from there.

He needed sleep, damn it, and a shower.

"Harvey, why don't you go take a shower? You might feel halfway human."

He sighed, blinked slowly, and turned to her. "I'm going to have a hell of a time washing my hair."

"Then go and shower. When you come out, put some clothes on and I'll wash your hair in the kitchen sink."

"Seems like you always end up washing my hair," Harvey replied, but unlike her own response which had been teasing, he sounded resigned. She would have to do something about that.

+~.Suits.~+

The tension was rising.

Donna glanced at her phone again to see it was two in the morning. _Twelve_ hours had passed and _still_ Harvey was awake, but he was quickly degenerating into delirious. If she did not get him to sleep soon, he would need to be admitted to the _hospital_. Her last effort with the warm shower had almost worked. He had sat down and closed his eyes and, though she could tell that he did not drift off, he had at least managed to rest. It was a stepping stone. But what surprised her most was when she had given him a sleeping pill and that still didn't knock him out.

If her patience was wearing thin, Harvey's was gone.

"Do you need me to read you a bedtime story or something? This is ridiculous!"

He looked over at her with gritted teeth and his eyes were blazing with fury. "I have _tried_, Donna! Do you think this is a joke? I feel like I'm strung out on cocaine!"

"Mike didn't give you anything, did he?"

"I wouldn't even accept fucking _Vicodin_ from the doctor. Why the hell would I accept crack or pot?"

"It was worth asking," Donna replied, though she knew not even a dose of cocaine that was borderline lethal could keep him up _this_ long. "Why can you not sleep?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I'm dizzy and uncoordinated as anyone who can't sleep would be, but I…CAN'T! I take aspirin every four hours like some goddamn drug addict and but my entire shoulder _still_ feels like some pulsating fire. My back is killing me, I can't get comfortable! But best of all – " He never finished his sentence.

Donna had leaned in and kissed him.

It didn't last more than a few seconds, but she pulled back to see his reaction since he had not returned it. He blinked a few times, slowly, staring at her with his mouth slightly hanging open. She tried again and this time he met her, bringing his right hand up to tangle in her hair. His lips were chapped but so warm and she wondered briefly why the hell she hadn't kissed him before now. She pulled away from him again to study him. He was less shocked but he was staring at her as if she had grown two heads.

A thought came to her and she snatched up his right hand and almost pulled him off the couch.

"C'mon, Harvey."

"Wha?" He asked, but managed to get to his feet and she pulled him back to his bedroom. When he realized this, he tried to pull his hand from her grip. "Donna, what are you doing?"

"Lie down," she replied, pulling back the bedspread and sheets

"But-but we can't have sex."

She snorted. "Harvey, even if you _were_ well enough for sex, not even you would get any on the first date."

"You consider this a date?" He asked. She was amused to see the spark back in his eyes and a small smile pulling at his lips as he lied down.

"Only in your dreams, Harvey." Even as she said it she climbed on to straddle his lap and dipped down for another kiss.

"Wait a minute. I'm not following your thought process here," Harvey said, blinking slowly up at her, his hand on her elbow and he stroked her arm with his thumb.

"Harvey, you need to relax." She ran her hands along his good shoulder, massaging the clenched muscles. He closed his eyes and groaned and she felt his muscles relax as he melted into the mattress.

"I'm not supposed to be sleeping in my bed," Harvey mumbled, his eyes still closed as she continued to massage his shoulder.

"You're supposed to be sleeping, period. I think Dr. Reeft will forgive one night in a bed, just as long as you sleep," Donna replied. She couldn't keep from sighing in exasperation as she felt his hand slide up and brush against her ass; it took all of her self-restraint not to slap it away. "That's the last free cop you're going to get!"

He grinned and she felt his hand slide away as he slowly started to fall asleep. She carefully extracted herself from the bed and stood there for a moment to savor her victory. When she walked back to the living room, she could not keep from smiling mischievously; she would never let him live it down that he needed a kiss good night to finally get to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Only a few chapters left in this story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry for the wait! ;_; You all are such good readers and I want to thank you for being so patient with me. I was going to split this chapter in two, but I figured I should just keep it together to make up for the wait. Enjoy! Thank you so much for your reviews! They're about the only thing that's bright and cheerful now that the holidays are over. Thank you!

**Chapter 9**

Mike knew something was off when he stepped into the elevator that morning and, among the crowd, was Louis. He never caught the elevator with Louis, even when he was early. But he was there and that immediately started the warning bells ringing in his head.

The other warning was the fact that Louis appeared to be purposely avoiding eye contact. What the hell? Even among other people, Louis wasn't afraid to target him for some subtle heckling. At least what passed for subtlety when it came to Louis.

Mike unconsciously shifted his feet, but his face remained outwardly impassive and he started straight into his reflection in the door. What could possibly have Louis acting like this? He tried to think back to all the cases that might cause this behavioral anomaly, but nothing floated to the surface.

_Honestly, why are you putting so much thought into it? _The phrasing of the question and the very tone it was spoken made Mike stop and wonder for a moment if Harvey had a direct link to his thoughts. He wouldn't put it past him. _Louis will bring it up eventually – it's Louis! He can only go so long without gloating – and you can address it then._

With that, Mike pushed it out of his mind and headed to his cubicle. He found five files already waiting for him at his desk. Jessica had taken over supplying him with work after she discovered Louis had given him enough files to keep any normal associate at the office for two days. She forbade him to give Mike any work the rest of the week and did it herself. The first day of Jessica's work Mike was surprised to find two measly files. He finished them by ten in the morning and handed them to Jessica's bewildered secretary, expecting to receive more work.

"But…that was supposed to be your work for the day," the woman replied, glancing down at the files briefly with a look that suggested she didn't think they were legitimately finished.

"Well, er…if you have any files to get me, I'll take them," Mike replied with a warm smile. "After all, it's only 10:15."

"I don't have anymore. That was it."

They both stared at each other for a moment and then the intercom on her desk clicked, "Send Mr. Ross in, Susan."

Susan waved him through and he went in, struggling to hide his trepidation. Not just anyone got to see the boss of the firm and here he was going to speak to her alone. Mike went to stand at her desk, feeling like a child who had been called to the principal's office. She glanced up from a formal letter she was writing and favored him with an amused smile.

"I think this is the first time I get to experience firsthand just how efficient you are at getting through files. It seems I've been giving Harvey too much credit."

"Oh no, Ma – I mean, Ms. Pearson. Harvey does much of the err...important work for our cases," Mike replied. He wanted to smack his head on the desk at the poor articulation and he knew that if Harvey were present, he'd be aiming one of his famous glares at him.

Jessica only seemed to become more amused. "He has you trained well." Mike cocked his head at this, but said nothing. "Very well. You've done your work for the day. You may leave," she said and returned to her letter writing.

Mike was simply stunned and he consciously swallowed all of his protests. One did not contradict the top lady in the building, but his eyes flicked over the room in search of a reply.

"Yes?" Jessica glanced up again, regarding him politely.

For a second, he froze but then he said, "I'm sure you're aware of this, but it's only 10:30. I can do a few more hours of work. It's no problem."

This time he noticed her expression crinkle a little bit. "You are just like Harvey."

Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he held his tongue.

"Mike, go home. You were in a car accident; a very serious one since it disabled Harvey of all people. He's taking the week off, so I think it's only fair you take the rest of the day." She returned to her letter again as a clear sign of dismissal.

He stood there for a moment and then said, "Thank you, Ms. Pearson." Before he'd made it back to his desk, he had decided he would treat Jenny out for lunch.

Now, Mike yawned mightily as he pulled the third file to his desk and started going over it with a red pen. He had taken a detour earlier in the day and noticed that, once again, Donna and Harvey's desks were both unoccupied and he sighed in a mixture of frustration and exasperation. Harvey had obviously not slept much anymore, but he would have appreciated an update by now. He was already halfway through his files and it was only just ten o'clock.

"So, Ross, now that Mr. Specter's arm is broken, do you have to do all the work?" Greg asked, leaning over Mike's desk with an annoyingly superior smile on his face.

Mike paid him no attention and continued working.

"In bed too?"

That halted his pen and he slowly slid his eyes up to Greg. "You're honestly going to imply that I sleep with Harvey? You have heard of his reputation as a womanizer, right?"

Greg's smile only grew wider. "Every man experiments, especially with their underlings. I bet – "

"Whoa! I don't want to hear what you've done for Louis," Mike replied with a disgusted and horrified look and he clapped his hands over his ears. This was the time to crank up the music on his iPod. He opened his messenger bag and for the first time realized his headphones were missing. Where the hell were they?

Greg flushed such a beautiful shade of scarlet, that Mike wondered for a moment if he was going to stroke out, and then he stalked off. Unfortunately, he was replaced by Kyle who had a much more evil grin on his face. Mike inwardly groaned at the sight and tried to simply continue doing his work as he had been.

"I'm sure that's the real reason for the car accident. Someone must've been seriously distracting Mr. Specter to make him total his mustang. What else did you have to offer him so that he could drag your ass to his family's Thanksgiving?"

Mike could feel the heat rising from his face and he wondered if there was actual steam shooting out of his ears. Finally he managed to compose himself enough for a retort, but his heart was not in it, "How much did you have to pay your family per hour to tolerate you?"

"At least I don't have to do favors to play family," Kyle snapped back, but Mike appeared to have gotten to him and he turned to head back to his desk.

Mike attempted to return to his work, but the heat just would not leave his face. The other associates had thrown plenty his way – that was not the first time he had been accused of giving Harvey sexual favors – but the implication that he was a pain in the ass who had no family bother him. When did they find out that he had no parents? This _had_ to be Louis' doing. He glanced at his phone, then back at the clock, and finally snatched it up and headed down to Harvey's office. It was as good a time as any to call for an update.

Donna was lying on the couch flipping through the TV channels. She had crashed on the couch as soon as Harvey fell asleep, but thanks to her pesky inner alarm, she was awake by seven. She checked on Harvey again to make sure he was still alive and she found him sleeping soundly on his back just as she left him. He needed the sleep so she did not wake him and made herself a bowl of cereal and tried to think of ways to entertain herself and that consisted of very quietly watching TV. She jumped a foot in the air at the sound of her phone ringing and she dived for her purse to answer it before it woke Harvey.

"Hello?" She spoke quietly.

"Donna? What's going on? I figured you'd call to update me by now," Mike said to her. She did not miss the disgruntled sniping in his tone and she promised herself to inquire about his moodiness later.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mike, but I thought my empty desk might be statement enough to what kind of update you'd be getting."

"If Harvey still isn't sleeping then he should've gone to the hospital! I figured you'd inform me about something like that!"

"You're right. I would have. Now follow that to its logical conclusion," she snapped back at him. As soon as she said it, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Just because she didn't get to sleep until past two, that didn't mean she should snap at the puppy. "I'm sorry.

"But that means Harvey slept last night. How'd you do it?"

"He's still sleeping. I finally got him to sleep at about two this morning. He was practically delirious."

"I can imagine. So how'd you do it?"

"Some gentle coaxing and I allowed him his bed."

"Gentle? Harvey?"

"He was in pain, Mike. That made him raw and rough around the edges. Friction would have only exacerbated the problem. Sometimes everyone needs a little softness."

"Hmm…" Mike said over the phone and she could already tell his own temper was diffusing. "Good point. But…his bed? I thought he couldn't lie down."

"I think the doctor will forgive us this once. What he needed most was sleep and I've seen Harvey sleep enough to know that he doesn't toss and turn. Now, what's got your panties in a twist?"

She couldn't help but smirk as she heard him sigh and she imagined him rolling his eyes. "The other associates were annoying me; they now seem to think that the reason I still have a job here is because I sleep with Harvey on a nightly basis."

"What? Harvey's been two-timing me these last five months? I didn't see that coming," Donna replied. She could hear Mike chuckle. "C'mon, Mike, that can't be what's bothering you. I know they have been accusing you of doing stuff like that from the moment Harvey hired you, as disgusting as the thought is." She shuddered and tried desperately not to think of the implication.

Once again Mike sighed. "No, no it's not that. I-I guess it was the way Kyle _said_ it that made it sound terrible. Well, he said 'Someone must have seriously been distracting Harvey to make him crash his mustang. What else did you have to offer him to make him drag your ass to his family's Thanksgiving?'"

There was silence for a moment. "I think Kyle is in need of some retribution. I think I know what steamed you; the implication that you're some useless piece of waste with no family, right?"

"Yes," Mike replied dully, but she could hear a note of relief.

"I have a feeling Harvey would let me drag Kyle's ass behind one of his car's if I ask nicely enough."

She had a feeling that Mike was quietly smiling and perhaps struggling to find the words to express his gratitude. "I'm glad you're not going to tell me to just suck it up."

"Mike, it's true, you're going to get a lot of crap like that, but lately I think the associates have been stepping over the line from heckling to sexual harassment. They need to be put back in their place. Now, how did they know about the car crash?"

There was a moment and then they said the same thing simultaneously, "Louis."

"Louis was acting weird this morning. Well weird_er_. Oh crap! He's headed this way now!"

"Where are you?" Donna asked, though she had a feeling.

"Harvey's office. We were going to discuss Harvey's private business after all," Mike replied innocently.

"You don't need to act like a lawyer around me," she replied, but she was smiling. The kid was starting to sound more and more like Harvey every day. "Lock him out!"

"Do you think I can get away with that?"

"It's Harvey's office! He's not allowed in there when Harvey's around!"

Mike quickly ran over to Harvey's desk and flipped on the magnetic lock, just as Louis reached for the door handle. He pulled a few times on the door and then gave Michael a severe frown, "Michael, you better open this door."

The associate continued standing where he was behind the desk and shook his head slowly.  
>"Michael Ross, you better open this door if you wish to still have a job at this firm tomorrow," Louis said to him with a surprisingly threatening glare.<p>

"He's threatening to fire me," Mike said, barely acknowledging Louis. He knew that Harvey would easily be able to intercept the arrival of this particular pink slip, since Louis was trying to get into Harvey's office while he wasn't there.

"Turn on the intercom. I want to speak to him." Mike flipped it on and then laid the phone face down on the speaker. "Louis." The associate saw Louis' eyes drift over to Donna's desk momentarily before they flitted right back to him. He opened his mouth again to make another threat, but Donna interjected. "I know you can hear me."

"Donna, it's nice to hear you're doing well today, despite not being at your desk," Louis said, bending over the wall of her cubicle to talk on the intercom. His voice was so patronizing even Mike could not keep from rolling his eyes at Harvey's desk. "But I just came by to tell Mike that he is on company time and while he is on company time, he is supposed to be working."

"Mike was discussing business with me, which falls _directly_ under company time, so turn around and go beg Jessica for more worthwhile cases other than apartment evictions." Mike had to turn around and hide his gleeful grin after Louis made a face that could only be described as biting into a lemon. He opened his mouth to say something, but Donna beat him to it, "Oh, and Louis, call off your dogs or I will find every single Harvard diploma and run it through my paper shredder and then I will proceed to purge every record that suggests they even attended Harvard. Is that understood?"

Louis chuckled. "So Mikey went running to mommy. Well, that's impressive Donna, but I doubt even you could pull that off."

"Oh really? Well then, Mike, would you like to hear about the Holiday Ball in 2005 and the Great Date Fiasco that happened afterward? You see – "

"Stop. How do you know about that?" Louis hissed between his teeth at the intercom.

"You're missing the point here, Louis. Leave _now_ and I might let you keep whatever reputation that you have," Donna snapped at him.

Louis went, obviously fuming.

Mike picked up the phone from the speaker. "Donna, you _are_ a Goddess. How shall I reward you?"

"Just do your work and try not to let some weasel like Louis get the best of you. And remember, Mike, I invited you to Thanksgiving because I wanted to and I thought you might enjoy a day away from New York."

"Thanks. I did enjoy my Thanksgiving."

"Good. Now, you've barely got an hour left to get your work done. Get to it!"

"Yeah, thanks. Let me know when Harvey wakes up."

"Sure. By the way, take the weekend off. I can handle Harvey for a few days."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been doing it for twelve years, Mike. Are you doubting me now?"

"Oh, uh, th-that was not doubt you heard in my voice. That was….merely a question if it was safe to leave Harvey in your care and it's not your safety I'm concerned about."

"I think he'll live," Donna said rather ominously and then hung up the phone before Mike could respond.

~+.Suits.+~

When Donna heard Harvey stir for the first time that day, she couldn't keep from sighing in a relief and quietly saying, "Ah he's awake!"

She had anticipated every minute since after she hung up on Mike to hear Harvey actually start to show signs of life, by either whining for food or going to the bathroom, but he did not stir once even at two, twelve hours after she had originally gotten him to sleep. She wrote it off at the time, _He hadn't slept in about three days. His body is playing catch up. It'll probably be a few more hours._

A few more hours turned into four more hours. At six o'clock she heard him stir and when she turned her head to peer into his bedroom, she could see him sitting on the edge of his bed rubbing his face. She felt fondness bubble up at the sight of him, but at the same moment a niggling feeling that could best be described as fear and doubt froze her and she turned back to the TV show she had been watching. For all the hours that she had wished he would finally wake up and ease her boredom, she forgot all about the inevitable serious conversation they would need to have when he did actually wake up.

He seemed open to the idea initially but that was when he was delirious from lack of sleep and, she had to admit to herself, he probably had little idea of was going on. Would he even _remember_ her kissing him last night? She would have to wait for him to initiate the conversation when he finally came out and, if he didn't then she would.

There was a soft padding of feet down the hallway and then the couch shifted as he sat down next to her and he leaned his head back against the cushion, blinking slowly.

"Well, good evening. I wondered if you'd ever wake up," Donna said to him, unable to resist smirking at his tousled and matted hair sticking in every direction. "How's your arm feeling?"

There was a rather long silence until Donna finally looked over to him and noticed that he was staring intently at her, studying her. Finally he said, "Good. It hurts, but it's more manageable now. The pain's not as sharp."

"Glad to hear it. Think you'll have trouble sleeping anymore?" Donna asked. She prided herself on her acting skills, but she would not deny that Harvey's staring was unnerving and her attempts to remain unflappable were starting to unravel the longer he continued studying her.

Finally he sat back and she thought she saw the barest hint of a smile, but it was gone so fast she wasn't even certain she saw it to begin with. "I had a weird dream last night."

"Do tell. Unless it was a rather explicit sex fantasy including yours truly then you might want to keep that to yourself."

"Close," he replied. "I had a dream that you kissed me."

She opened her mouth, whether to confirm or deny, she wasn't sure, but then she closed it again and stared at the tv with a stubborn frown on her face.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?"

Donna opened her mouth again, trying to come up with a snappy retort, but it died in her throat. It was time to cut the bullshit. "No. No, it was not a dream."

Harvey sighed heavily. "I thought we 'could never be,' Donna," he said to her, throwing her words right back at her.

She flinched, although she knew she deserved this for opening that can of worms after she had slammed it shut and welded it closed. "I had to re-evaluate the situation, Harvey. I _still_ don't know if we can really be anything more than friends, but now…I'm ready to at least try."

"What could possibly have changed between now and then, Donna?"

"Well, I'm older now and after one failed relationship after another, of attempting to date men that aren't you, I have discovered that you might unfortunately be my type."

"Unfortunately?"

"I'm proud of the lawyer you are but you do have a tendency to bore the ears off of close company with all your talk of business," Donna said, cursing herself for finding it easier to stare at the television than at him.

He coughed. That caught her attention and she turned to stare at him. Was that to cover a laugh? But her eyes were met with another hard stare.

"Come on, Donna, I know you are not weak enough to believe you need a man at all. What made you change your mind about trying a relationship with me? I mean, as you said, we're already friends."

"All right, I won't deny that part of my re-evaluation of the situation happened after the car accident," she said, raising her hand cup his cheek and she noticed his eyes softened every so slightly. "I thought I lost you. What would I do without you, Harvey?"

"Well, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere for a while. You didn't need to do something as cheesy as confessing your undying love."

It took all of her restraint to keep from balling her fist up and punching him in the eye. "This is hardly what I would call _confessing my_ _undying love_! If you wish me to phrase it in a way that won't roll your eyes, you're so far the only person I find myself at ease with most of the time."

"At ease?" Harvey snorted. "That hardly requires a relationship beyond friendship, Donna."

She sighed in frustration and scowled at him. "All right, you want all the cards on the table? We are as close as we can possibly become as friends, all it can do now – "

" – is diminish from there." Harvey finished.

Donna had been going through all the points that her mother had made Thanksgiving night and when he finished the sentence, she snapped her attention to him and her eyes narrowed. Revelation hit her all at once. "You were listening in on my conversation with my mother that night!" His face was remarkably impassive, but she could see a smile threatening to break out on his lips. "You bastard!" She smacked him none too gently on his right shoulder. "You were purposely dragging this out!"

"Really, Donna, can you blame me? How often am I given the opportunity to make you squirm like that?" She hit him again. "Hey! I'm injured here."

"Forget what I said; I hate you now."

"From my experience, that's what comes with the territory."

"What experience? I never thought it was a good idea t—"

This time he leaned in to kiss her and she couldn't help but laugh as she reflected back to how she ended his ranting the same way the night before. When he finally stopped for them to breathe, she said, "Don't think you'll be able to end every argument like this."

He had that sly grin on his face and replied, "Make-up sex it is then."

Donna rolled her eyes and was about to reply when he started kissing her again. She wanted to huff at his rather obvious intentions, but she allowed it and returned the kiss right back. It had been at least six months since her last real relationship and so she relaxed as she felt her affection for him wash over. The leather fabric of his couch was slowly sliding up her back as she felt herself slide down onto her back so that he was practically lying on top of her. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath and Harvey glared at his useless left arm and he attempted to move it out of his way. Unable to do anything with his injured arm, he merely sighed in frustration and was bending down again to kiss her some more when they both heard someone knock on his door.

He glanced down at her and she shook her head. _Not ordered food._

"Who is it?" He called out.

"It's Jessica, Harvey. I thought I'd check on you, so I brought dinner."

Donna watched Harvey's eyes grow the size of quarters to match her expression and he glanced down at her. _Oh shit, _he mouthed.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed the chapter! =)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **Thank you all so much for your reviews! =) I'm so lucky to have such wonderful readers. Enjoy the next chapter!

**Chapter 10**

Harvey immediately sat back and away from Donna, watching her carefully as she straightened her clothes and attempted to fix her hair to look as if she had not just been lying down. Harvey squeezed her knee in comfort as he got up and walked quietly toward the door.

"Harvey, maybe I should get that," she called out to him, chewing on her lip so that she wouldn't laugh at the death glare he gave her.

He opened the door and was surprised to see that Jessica was not wearing one of her power dresses or skirts, but just jeans and a lovely green blouse. His eyes then fell on the two plastic bags she was holding. "I don't' suppose I could find any case files hidden in there."

"Hmm…no," Jessica said after a moments of mock thought.

"What a shame," Harvey replied. He made to close the door but just as he was about to click it shut, he opened enough to peer out at her. "You're not going to stop me?"

He frowned as Jessica's smile turned smug. "Even you wouldn't be brave enough to shut the door on your boss," she said, still not moving from her stance.

"It's my condo," Harvey replied and he once again closed the door to a sliver, and then he glanced at Donna. She was giving him a rather strained smile and the messaged she was trying to convey was clear: _Don't try it._

Harvey immediately opened the door and stood back to allow her in. He knew Jessica wouldn't fire him over something as pathetic as shutting a door in her face, but she would not hesitate to make his life hell. She nodded at him as she walked in, but then her eyes swept him and, for the first time, he actually glanced down at himself and he felt his ears go red. He was dressed in nothing more than pajama pants and an undershirt and suddenly he could feel the grubby stickiness on his skin that came from sweating. His hair probably looked like a bird's nest.

"Hmm…I, uh, I'm going to go clean up if you don't mind," he said, heading off to his bedroom.

"You do that," Jessica replied, taking little regard of him as she started pulling her groceries out of the plastic bags.

Donna stood up and swept over to Harvey just getting to his bedroom door before he did and she asked in a quiet voice, "Do you need me to wash your hair afterward?" She was very much unsurprised by the sullen look he gave her.

"I think I can manage," he replied with a bit more bite to his voice than normal.

"I guess we'll see. Just yell for me when you need to put your shirt on," Donna said as she slid past him.

He waved her off violently, but she couldn't keep a smile from her face or the small eye roll. Then she turned to Jessica in the kitchen, "I'm sorry, Jessica, do you need help?"

"Nope, I've got it," Jessica replied.

As amusing as it might be to poke fun at Harvey for being so self-conscious around his boss, Donna could not deny that she was rather nervous as well. She glanced down at the sweatpants and the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing, coupled with the fact that she had absolutely no make-up on and her hair was fly away, she marveled for a moment at how Harvey managed to look past her frumpiness to make out with her.

Having nothing else to do, Donna returned to the leather couch to watch the same mundane Syfy flick that was on when Harvey woke up. Jessica sat down next to her a minute later and after a momentary pause, she broke the silence, "So, what did I interrupt?"  
>"This movie," Donna replied. "Don't worry, it's horrible. I might have to convince Harvey to watch an actual good flick to sanitize my brain of this." A long silence fell before Donna gave in and glanced over at Jessica. She had her hands clasped in her lap but, most infuriatingly, there was a knowing smile.<p>

"Donna, cut the smoke screen."

"Smoke screen?" Donna replied, attempting to employ her best acting skills to get out of the corner this clever woman was back her into. "I don't see where you are going with this. Harvey woke up barely ten minutes ago; he was still waking up when you dropped by."

Jessica just chuckled and shook her head. "I don't see why you're bothering to try and hide it from me. I'm personally marveling at the fact that it took a dozen years to see what's right in front of your eyes. If I had an office pool going, it would have been which one of you would finally approach the other."

Donna sighed and sagged back into the couch, feeling as though a remarkable burden had been lifted from her shoulders. "What gave it away?"

"Harvey did," Jessica replied, her smile now turning amused. Donna raised her eyebrows as a motion to continue. Jessica chuckled again and at the thought before she said, "I know you were doing something when he answered the door in his pajama pants and shirt. As we witness just now, normally Harvey's first through would be, is that there would be no way he would open a door for me, his boss, in his pajamas."

Donna couldn't suppress a giggle and nodded. "You're right. I thought the same thing just before he opened the door, but there was no way to tell him without tipping you off. I had really hoped you would just pass it off as him being in his house." Donna shook her head and was reminded again why Jessica happened to be head of one of the most successful firms in New York. She knew now, so keeping their relationship a secret was utterly pointless. It was here that Donna voiced her concern, "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." The answer was short, to the point, and not at all what Donna had been expecting.

"Nothing? I thought there were rules against intimate relationships with coworkers."

"Exceptions can be made."

Donna could not be hearing this right. "Why?"

"You two have managed to work together all these years without a problem. I don't see why that should change."

"Except we're in a relationship now."

Jessica huffed in frustration. "Well, now we're defined and now things will change."

Jessica gave her a meaningful look. "The only thing that should change is that you'll now be commuting to work together rather than apart."

Donna stared back in confusion and disbelief. "You don't think our whole dynamic will change?"

Jessica tilted her head and peered at her in curiosity. "I'm starting to see why it took twelve years for you two to start a relationship. It wasn't his insecurities that were getting in the way; it was yours."

Donna opened her mouth to reply when Harvey interjected, "Damn it, Donna! If you don't want me to eavesdrop then stop having important conversations in my vicinity."

She turned to scowl at him and found him leaning against the entrance to the short hallway, already dressed in jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt. "If you didn't want to get in trouble, then why admit you eavesdropped?"

"Well, not only is this a conversation that involves me and but this is my condo," he said with a smug smile. "However, my shoulder is killing, so would you help me with my sling already?" He said, walking out into the living room and she could see he was clenching his jaw. The sling dangled from the fingers of his right hand as he simultaneously clutched his injured arm to his stomach.

"Wouldn't hurt to say 'please,' Harvey," she snapped back at him, but without any real energy.

He simply gave her a knowing smile, not unlike the one Jessica had on her earlier, and she frowned tersely up at him even as she situated the sling and tightened the strap. Just as he was looking down to examine the strap, she reached up and ruffled his hair and he swatted at her.

"Hey, stop that! I wouldn't do that to your hair."

"Just making sure it's clean."

"It's clean enough," he said with an annoyed scowl on his face.

Donna raised her eyebrows at him skeptically. "The Harvey I know wouldn't settle for anything less than clean."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it will do for now because I know perfectly well I won't be going anywhere special for a few days. Especially not back to work."

"You're not coming into work tomorrow," Jessica said to him, staring at the both of them over the back of the couch.

"Case-in-point," he said, gesturing over to Jessica before he walked over to sit down on the couch with her.

"By the way," Donna said, a thought coming to her, "how in the world did you manage to get your shirt on without my help?"

"I don't only have a talent in taking off clothes," Harvey replied, glancing back over the couch at Donna with a smug grin.

Both women groaned. Donna put a hand over her eyes, but Jessica gave him a stern look and said, "You say anything like that again and I'll banish you from the adult table."

"I'm sorry," he replied, bowing his head.

Jessica snorted. "You don't have to look so pathetic for something you're not even sorry for saying," she said.

This made him sigh. "I need new frees; ones I can charm and fool."

"Those aren't friends, Harvey," Donna said, leaning over the couch near his head. "They're clients. But I would love to see you manage with a new secretary. I bet she wouldn't last a day."

Harvey shuddered, but she could tell there was nothing mocking about it from the dark look in his eyes. He had obviously given the notion some thought and she felt obscenely pleased that he thought the idea was repulsive. She had often expressed aloud how helpless Harvey would be without her and they laughed, but it appeared he actually agreed with that sentiment. Maybe this relationship could work after all.

Jessica suddenly got up from the couch, drawing both of their attentions. "Well, I brought over dinner, so why don't we eat?"

"Yes, please," Harvey replied, getting up from the couch.

"Now, how come you can't say please to me?" Donna asked in mock rage.

"She's my boss."

Harvey could be impossible sometimes.

~+.Suits+~

_Everything blurred and whirled around him in a confused mess of motion, color and images. He would swear that he could feel the sharp sting of glass on his face as he watched the windshield smash and bulge under the pressure. The roof buckled and the window supports screamed and rent under the weight, like they had driven into a trash compactor. The only light source he could see was the alarming glare of the oncoming driver's headlight and it beamed at him unrelentingly in a harsh glare._

_ He wanted to scream in terror and confusion, but his body felt powerless to do anything. His arms lay uselessly by his sides and his back was as rigid as a post. He felt the air squeezed from his lungs by the intense pressure on his chest, like his seat belt had actually been drawn tighter, causing a severe ache in his ribs._

_ Just as suddenly as it happened, he found himself standing a hospital room between two beds, which each held a body dressed in dark clothes. On one bed was Donna; her eyes were open wide in a blank stare and her skin was pale as death. Blood trickled down her forehead and the exposed skin of her arms was a mottled with bruises of blue and green. Harvey lie on the other bed and, just like her, his eyes were wide and blank. Unlike her, the whole left side of his head was covered thickly in dark red blood that still looked very fresh._

_ A doctor he could describe only as short, balding, and wearing spindly glasses was standing by Harvey's bed, gesturing helplessly at him while saying, "There was nothing we could do. They were like this when we pulled them out. I'm sorry, but they're gone."_

_ "No," Mike tried to scream at the top of his lungs, but he could hear his own voice echo with a weak quality. "No, they can't be dead. No please! Not them! Harvey, Donna! Please!"_

_ But the doctor appeared not to hear him and simply kept repeating himself over and over and over…_

"Harvey," Mike screamed, bolting upright in bed. He breathed rapidly, staring around the dark blurred room in momentary panic, thinking that he was actually stuck in a hospitable bed that night, but then his vision cleared and he could make the dim out-line of his doorway. He felt something warm slide off his cheek and it was only when he touched his face that he realized he was crying relentlessly.

He immediately wiped his face on his bedspread. _Get a grip, Mike, _he scolded himself.

But the dream had felt so real. Every night since the crash, he would relive it within his subconscious, but this was the first time Harvey and Donna actually came up dead. Had his mind been fooling him this entire time into thinking they were alive?

His mind was trying to tell him yes, they were alive. He had seen Harvey and Donna barely two days ago, but now he was starting to doubt the legitimacy of those encounters, like all of his recent memories were tainted with an ephemeral quality. He had to know the truth.

Mike shakily got this feet and walked out into the kitchen to snatch his phone off the counter and hit the #3 speed dial.

~+.Suits.+~

Donna cracked her eyes open at a ringing sound that she could faintly hear from the other room and for a moment, she just lie there, not quite comprehending the importance of the noise. Then suddenly Harvey stirred next to her and said in a tone as drowsy as she felt, "M'phone."

That got her moving and she quickly walked through the apartment, hissing at the cold floor beneath her feet before she finally snatched up the phone on the counter. She glanced at the caller ID and her eyebrows shot up in surprise before she quickly answered it, "Hello, Mike?"

"Hey, uh, Donna. How are you doing?"

She cocked her head at the odd tone to his voice. And was that a sigh of relief? "Fine, Mike. What's going on with you?"

"Listen is Harvey there?"

Donna pulled the phone from her ear to give it a strange stare before putting it back. "Yeah, he's here," she replied in a cautious tone, "Let me take the phone to him."

Just like the night before, Harvey was sprawled on his back in his bed and she tapped him gently, "Hey, Mike wants to talk to you."

Harvey peeled his eyes open and squinted at her. "At this time of night?" He mumbled in a sleep-laden voice.

"Yeah," Donna said.

He noticed the fear in her eyes and he took the vote, before answering, "Hey, Mike, what's making you call so late?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing. I was just calling to see how you were. You hanging in there?"

Harvey shot Donna a quizzical look. "Yes, I'm sleeping better now than I have been. Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong." Harvey's forehead scrunched; there was that odd tone of voice again and he could not quite place it. "I, uh, I'm sorry for calling so late. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Jessica's banned me from going to work tomorrow, Mike," Harvey stated rather plainly.

"Oh, okay. Well, then, I guess I'll see you on Monday. Bye." The phone disconnected before Harvey even got to reply.

He frowned tersely at it and then he sat up and carefully turned his body to get out of bed and grabbed the pair of jeans and the shirt that he had on for dinner. "Better get some clothes on."

"Aww…we going to Mikey's for a sleepover?"

"Yes. Yes we are."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Possibly one or two chapters to go before this ends. So thank you all for reviewing!<strong>

**I actually wanted to ask all of you about the possible next story I write. I have several ideas, a couple more concrete than others, and I thought I might get an idea of what you'd prefer I write.**

**#1 - This one's tragic. It basically covers the idea of a couple of gunman in Pearson Hardman and the aftermath of that. I don't like giving specific details, so that's the general idea.**

**#2 - Mike/Harvey whump! pretty much. They get into a serious situation and it's not nearly as tragic as the first idea. **

**So, your thoughts? I'd appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. =)  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **I'm posting this in a hurry, so please excuse my mistakes! O.o

To answer your question Stony-Angel: When I meant Harvey/Mike, I mean that they would be experiencing a bad situation together, they would not be a couple.

**Chapter 11**

Mike really should have expected the knock that came at his door at 3:30 in the morning. He sighed heavily and set down the crime thriller he decided to read to escape sleeping and opened the door, but not before affecting a look of innocence.

"Harvey? Donna? What are you doing here?" He said, blinking his eyes slowly in exhaustion.

Donna, who was behind Harvey, gave Mike a faint smile of encouragement. But Mike could not get past the glower that Harvey was direting at him. After a momentary pause, Harvey finally spoke and in a much softer tone than what Mike thought he was capable of being; "I don't know, Mike. You tell me."

Mike stared at him with an expression that any common stranger would mistake for puzzlement, but Harvey and Donna could see right through it. "Huh? Harvey, I don't – "

"Cut the bullshit, Mike. You know exactly why I'm here," Harvey snarled at him. Hidden from Mike, Donna reached up a hand to squeeze their boss' arm.

"Honestly, I have no recollection of what you're talking about. Did I call you?" Mike asked. He _knew_ he was pushing his luck with Harvey, especially since he had spoken to both of them on the phone. But a tiny voice in the back of his mind nudged him that maybe, just maybe, Harvey would call it quits and leave.

But Mike was once again reminded why Harvey was the best closer in the city.

Harvey's glare darkened even further and he finally said in a deeper voice that welled up in his chest cavity, "Strange to hear from someone who never forgets _anything_. Let us in, Mike. You're not getting out of this."

Donna finally spoke up with a hand on Harvey's shoulder, "Mike, don't think we don't know you've been suffering. Come on, we need to talk."

The associate grimaced, but then he sighed in defeat and stepped back from the door to let them in. Harvey stepped through softly in measured steps as though he were leading Donna into a dangerous cave; his eyes roamed the room as though he were trying to familiarize himself with it despite the fact that he had been there before. Donna frowned at the room, clearly disapproving of its quality as she took in the beat up walls, the crappy little kitchen area that was only just separated from the living room by a counter, and finally to the bed that was positioned on the far side of the living room, which clearly showed the lack of a bedroom in the original floor plan.

"Can I get you guys anything? Coffee? Tea?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Harvey replied.

"Tea would be nice, Mike," Donna said, sensing that Mike was truly looking for a reason to escape and collect himself.

Harvey gave the couch an ugly look, as though he suspected there was a cockroach infestation, but he lowered himself to the couch and seemed to sigh with relief when no bugs came scuttling out. Donna sat down quickly next to him and couldn't keep from giving him a wry smile, but it vanished quickly at the clink of glasses in the kitchen. He returned her look and nodded at her. She nodded back.

They had discussed strategy on the way over.

_"Careful, Harvey. Mike's suffering. This isn't a time for simply a lecture to deal and move on."_

_ "I know," Harvey said, looking straight ahead through the windshield with a grave expression on his face. "But I'm not a soft and cuddly teddy bear." He made a face even as he said the words and Donna could not keep from giggling softly. "In order to get through the door, I've got to be tough on him or he'll never let us know what's going on."_

_ "Fine, but there does need to be some softness here and I think what Mike needs most is for it to come from you. Call your relationship what you will, but you are in essence, his father-figure if not older brother. I can do the coddling, but you need to be the support that's to keep him standing. He needs somebody."_

_ Harvey sighed and shook his head. "I'm not good with this sort of thing. If I had hired anyone of those twats at that hotel other than him, I wouldn't have to be worrying about this right now."_

_ Donna smiled at him in knowing. "You also wouldn't be winning quite as often as you are now and you probably would have fired that twat four months ago. You picked him, Harvey. If you want him to keep working at the same level, you're going to have to make some sacrifices, starting with that faux narcissistic personality."_

_ He frowned at her. He's been accusing me of caring for months now. I think he knows it's a lie."_

_ "He needs confirmation. He has the evidence, but he can't really be certain until the defendant pleads guilty."_

_ Donna had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as he inhaled deeply, holding his breath a few seconds, and then he exhaled and said, "I will admit to caring as long as you never use any legal metaphors again."_

_ "Done."_

_ Donna could see that despite his exasperation at having to establish a relationship with his associate that was above and beyond what would be normal, he appeared determined to shoulder the responsibility that he had accepted all those months ago._

Mike eventually returned to them from the kitchen and neither one could help but notice the trembling hand as he handed Donna her cup of tea, as though if he did not defend himself appropriately he would wind up on death row. The couch was the only place to sit, so Harvey scooted over to open a space for him and emphasize this with a pointed look.

The couch was not especially big and when he did sit down, he could not help but notice that his and Harvey's shoulders and hips now brushed together, they were in such close proximity. In the quiet corners of his mind, Mike gladly admitted to craving such human touch. Trevor was gone, Jenny had dumped him, and he only saw his grandmother on rare and often random occasions. He was virtually starved of any actual human contact that went beyond handshakes. He unconsciously leaned in closer, something that did not escape Harvey's notice.

He let Mike take a long sip of his tea and then gently prodded him, "So, you've had trouble sleeping lately?"

"Yeah."

"Since the wreck?"

Mike sighed and replied a little more impatiently, "Yes."

"Hey, I'm gathering all the evidence. The best way to fix the problem is to fully understand it," the older lawyer snapped back.

This made Mike wince and he nodded in compliance.

"What have your dreams been about?"

"I'm sure you can guess. Harvey, really this is nothing. Every once in a while, these dreams will flare up and I'll have some trouble, but I can handle it. I've managed it so far."

"You know, your work may be impeccable at the office, but even you can't do a perfect job with something like this," his boss said in a low voice.

Mike actually snorted with laughter. "You actually sound like you _care_, Harvey. Oh, I can just hear you tomorrow after all of this, 'What? That wasn't caring. I can't have you skipping on sleep and messing up on all the paperwork for our cases. It's important that you be alert!'" He jumped when he actually felt an admonishing tap to the back of his head. It was like a light version to a smack upside the head, but one look at Harvey showed he had not meant it lightly and he was glaring sourly at his associate.

"Damn it, Mike! You were in a car crash! I may not have been the catalyst, but you were in my car, which means I need to know how it is affecting you. This is serious, so get with the program." There was a slight pause in which Harvey appeared to visibly try and collect himself and then he asked in a low voice, "No, if you dreamed these dreams before, why did you call me and Donna this morning acting like you were surprised to hear our voices?"

Mike refused to meet his eyes, choosing to stare at anyone but Harvey. His vision was starting to become blurred and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He swallowed, trying to find a steady voice. When he finally spoke, he was pleased to hear his voice didn't croak and the sob stuck in his throat could not be heard, "I, uh, I called because I was unsure."

"Unsure about what?" Harvey pressed, though in a surprisingly gentle voice and he had placed his good hand on Mike's shoulder. He could feel the tremors of the kid shaking uncontrollably in his muscles.

"Okay, usually I see my parent's faces. Disturbing but that's how it goes, but this time..." Mike's voice caught and he almost choked on it. He drew in a deep breath and continued, "but this time, it was your faces. You were both just lying on a pair of hospitable beds, staring up at the ceiling. Clearly dead. You were too pale and you were cut up and bruised from the wreck. Harvey, you had this wound on your head on the left and your face was just covered thickly from the blood. Donna, you had bruises all over your arms and cuts on your face from the broken glass of the windshield, blood was trickling down your face from your own head wound." He was not looking at Harvey as he said this, convinced that Harvey would simply rolled his eyes and say, _Christ, kid, it was a dream!'_

And there it was. "Mike – "

"No, no, I'm telling you! It was so real! So real. When I woke up, I thought you _were_ dead. I thought my mind had been playing tricks on me this whole time, like, like, it was something out of the Matrix." There was a pause, with only the sound of Mike's ragged breathing to fill in the silence. He had buried his face in his hands and said, "I know you'll think I'm stupid, but I – I had to know. It – it couldn't wait until Monday."

Another long pause filled the room and during it, Mike heard someone move and then he felt another hand on his upper back, rubbing gently. And then…

"I hate those kinds of dreams."

Mike shifted. Had he heard that right? He turned to Harvey and lifted his head up enough to gape, only to find his boss was staring at him very seriously. It was generally difficult to try and read precisely what was on Harvey's mind, he could see no mocking twinkle, humor of any sort, and no annoyance either.

"The kind where you wake up and you don't know what's real. Later, you always feel like an idiot for ever doubting your actual memory, but at the time you woke up, it really doesn't seem all that implausible."

The associate was staring at Harvey as if he did not believe he actually existed. He blinked a few times and peered at him curiously, which only made Harvey sigh in exasperation. "Listen, kid, I know I'm a hard ass, but I'm just as human as you are."

"But you've had dreams like mine before."

Slight hesitation. "Yes."

Again, Mike studied him carefully, half-expecting the whole exchange to be a ruse and Harvey was merely attempting to reach him on a more personal level by pretending to relate to him. However, while he could tell by the way Harvey's eye shifted and the slight twitch of his lips, this was not a comfortable subject area and very likely fell under the umbrella of truth. What could possibly disturb Harvey enough to have horrific detailed dreams that made him doubt reality? The man pretended so often that he was made of stone and that his greatness was so far beyond the average lawyer, that he seemed like a god among mortals. He did recall that much of that famed Harvey confidence had faltered quite dramatically at the return of his old mentor, no matter how brief that encounter was, so it only seemed fair that Harvey had his own collection of fears that never saw the light of day but the moonlight of his dreams.

Mike continued staring at Harvey who, despite the inspection, never seemed to falter into nervous habits and then finally he found his words and dared to ask, "What were your dreams about?"

The associate saw a small flicker in his boss' eyes and he tensed.

"I don't remember."

_Bullshit, _Mike wanted to snap back at him, however, this was digging into a far more personal level of Harvey's life. Mike's dream had at least _featured_ Harvey and Donna and he thought it was pretty safe to assume that these dreams that Harvey had mentioned very likely did not feature him. He nodded and backed off, sensing a close to the topic and he finally relaxed and leaned back against the couch.

Harvey leaned back with him and sighed, closing his eyes, and it was for the first time Mike actually saw how tired his boss was. _Well, of course he's tired! He didn't sleep for three days and you had to wake him up at 3 am. _He slumped a little at the thought and felt grateful all over again that despite how much he insisted not caring, Harvey had ditched his nice comfy bed for a late night introspection into the mental health of his employee. How many bosses would go the extra mile there?

Donna gave Harvey's good shoulder a squeeze and then she place both of her hands on Mike's shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. "Just so you know, Mike, it doesn't matter how late you call either of us, we will listen. Especially if it's something as important as this."

"You want me to call you if I ever have nightmares?" His voice sounded both incredulous and sarcastic even to his own ears.

"Sure," Harvey said, deliberately blinking his eyes to stay awake. "But if your nightmares are _always_ this bad, you might consider going to a therapist."

Mike balked. "What? No! No, I don't need a therapist, Harvey."

"They're head doctors. They can help you with this just like a regular doctor would help you with an infection. You honestly might consider it and, furthermore, you can bill it to insurance. You won't have to pay a damn dime."

The associate only sulked, the original, warm feelings of camaraderie soon gave away to the dark sludge of negativity at just what all the associates would think once they learned he was going to a therapist. They would undoubtedly find out, because sensitive information like that seemed to have a way of getting out into the cubicle gossip of the workplace.

Donna seemed to sense the darkness of his mood and she said, "Mike, at least consider it. But not right now. What you need more than anything is sleep."

"Yes, to bed please," Harvey said, slowly getting to his feet and stretching his back. "Your couch sucks."

"Sorry it's not up to your usual standard of plushness, your Majesty," Mike sniped back, but he was smiling. That couch could put a man in traction if he wasn't careful. The smile fell off of his face though the moment he saw Harvey sit on his bed and start to take off his shoes. "Wait, what are you doing? That's my bed."

"I don't see any other places to sleep, except the couch," Harvey replied and he threw it an evil look. "I mean, if you'd rather _Donna_ sleep next to you and I get the co – "

The older lawyer smirked could not keep a victorious smirk off his face as he watched Mike's ears suddenly flush scarlet and then he could hear Mike stumbling over his words to backpedal, "No, no, that's fine. Uhh…sure, you can sleep in bed with, uh, with me. And, Donna, well, uh, it might actually be healthier for you to sleep on the floor."

"I imagine it probably would, but I was hoping with enough blankets, I could at least give the couch a little bit more padding than it has now. Harvey, could you – oh, never mind," Donna said once she saw that he had already lain down in Mike's bed and was just a matter of minutes from sleep. "You boys sleep well." She winked at Mike.

The associate spluttered. "Wha-why? I…don't even. No, just no, Donna. Uhh…well…why don't you share my bed with Harvey? You don't seem to mind sleeping togeth-whoa!" Harvey reached up and forcefully pulled Mike onto the bed and shoved him over to him over to his side.

"Just get to sleep already, kid! Christ," Harvey muttered, turning around to plump up one of the crappy little pillows on.

"Mike, you need sleep. Good sleep. Don't worry about me," Donna replied and then she went over and flipped off the light.

~+.Suits.+~

_Brriiing._

Mike cracked his eyes open slightly, blinking slowly as he continued to hear a cell phone ring that was relatively close to his hear. He tilted his ear towards the phone and then groaned unhappily and turned away from the sound into his soft, warm pillow. Wait, _warm_? Mike froze and opened his eyes a little wider to find that sometime in the night – well, early morning – he had apparently rolled over and nestled into Harvey's side. He was even more horrified to realize that he actually had an arm around his boss' middle like he would normally do with a pillow.

Trying to keep from panicking and waking his boss up to hold this over his head for eternity, Mike carefully moved his face away and slowly, very slowly, pried his arms away and slowly began inching his way away.

_Brriiing_

_Crap, the phone! _Harvey shifted and then Mike felt his arm move across his back and then he gently pushed at Mike's side.

"Move, Mike, need m'phone," Harvey grumbled at him, not even opening his eyes.

Mike immediately rolled away so that his back was to Harvey, too mortified to look him in the eyes so he only heard the exchange.

"Harvey Specter," his boss answered smoothly despite having just woken up. "Mr. Bradford, nice to speak to you again. How are you?" Unlike most clients that Harvey talked to, there was no charm injected in his voice, but his attitude appeared to be that of pure neutrality. "Well, since you are standing in Jessica's office, I assume she has already told you that I am on leave until Monday, correct?" Another pause. "I'm not coming in."

This caused Mike to double-take. Harvey was turning down the opportunity to go in and work? Was this the same Harvey from before thanksgiving break?

"I'm on leave. Just relax, Mr. Bradford. There really is no reason to rush this deal. The President's signing that commerce bill on Tuesday; we'll be able to negotiate them to a better deal. Good. Have a good weekend, Mr. Bradford." Harvey clicked the phone shut and sighed in annoyance. "Had your fill then, Mike?"

"Err…uhh..."

"I can understand; your apartment _is_ cold. How do you live like this? Do you even _have_ heating?" Mike blinked and turned around to look at Harvey who was looking at him with only one eye. His associate just looked at him incredulously and he somehow rolled the one eye, "Come on, Mike, act like a grown-up. We both still have our clothes on! Your bed's not that big anyway."

Mike had to grudgingly concede that last point. Even turned away from Harvey, he was so close that Harvey's arm was caught between the two of them.

"Just because nothing happened doesn't mean this isn't still awkward," Mike pointed out, scowling in annoyance.

"Aww…you boys look so cute."

"Put the camera away right now, Donna, or I will make sure that thing has an accident," Harvey said, having closed his eyes again to relish the morning.

"But I wouldn't share it with anybody! Well, maybe my mother…"

"No! I don't need the risk the chance of your phone getting hacked like Scarlett Johansson's."

"Now, would anyone want to hack my phone?"

"You don't think you're pretty then?"

"I'm not famous!"

"I bet there's still some nerdy weirdo out there who would still take the chance to look at your files for the chance of finding some nude pictures."

"I'm not as dumb as she is."

"I know that, but then that's not my concern. Put the camera away! I'd rather not risk copies of it being posted all over Pearson Hardman."

"That happened only once!"

"Once was enough."

"Wait, what happened?" Mike asked, sitting up and grinning at his boss eagerly, who was scowling at him in annoyance.

"_Donna_ got a picture of me sleeping in my boxers and an undershirt and somehow several pictures ended up posted on the walls around Pearson Hardman," Harvey replied, glaring with renewed annoyance as if he only just recalled the incident, but she merely shrugged and grinned innocently. The older lawyer sighed and glanced over at Mike, "You awake then? Get dressed; I'm taking you to breakfast?" He glanced at his watch. "Lunch. Whichever. Hurry up, I'm hungry."

"All right, all right. Are we going anywhere nice?"

Harvey stared. "Does it look like I'm dressed for nice?" Mike had to admit, it was weird looking at Harvey with messy hair, a rumpled pullover and jeans, and knowing that he was going to go out actually _looking_ like that, rather than primping himself.

"I wasn't sure if we were stopping by your apartment or not."

"No."

"Okay, I can be ready in twenty," Mike replied, before disappearing into the restroom.

Donna stood over Harvey with a knowing smile and her arms crossed. "I thought I was dreaming this morning when I heard one, Harvey Specter, best closer in the city, decline the offer to go into the office to work!"

"Do I look like I'm in any shape to turn up at the office?" He asked, returning her smile with a smirk of his own.

"You can pull off rumpled, but you do look better in your suits," Donna replied, moving to sit down next to him and he turned to pillow his head in her shoulder. "Still tired then?"

"Yes, I still need sleep," he grumbled. "It was rudely interrupted by a weird phone call."

"I know, but it was good that you were there for him, Harvey. He needed you. I did notice he was cuddled up next to you earlier this morning. I can't believe you allowed that and didn't make one embarrassing joke about that this morning."

"I could hear him crying in his sleep earlier this morning. Don't tell him."

"Of course not. He can't know you have actually have a heart."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; just one left to go now. =)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **We have finally come to the end! Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, but I started playing this game called Skyrim...Most of you should know where I'm going with this. XD Sorry! You all have been such great readers and reviewers. Thank you for being so patient with me!

Of the story ideas I asked about a few chapters ago, #2 **Harvey/Mike find themselves in a dangerous situation**won! I'm not going to put an explicit timetable on when I'm going to start posting this one, but expect it in the next 2-3 weeks. Again, thank you all for reading, reviewing, and putting this story on your alerts and favs! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

**Chapter 12**

After lunch with Mike, Harvey insisted Donna return to her apartment. She had expected this. Despite the fact that they were in a relationship, she knew his independence wouldn't go without a fight or, at least, a very slow death. He'd had it ripped away from him rather unceremoniously by the car wreck and now it was going to be compromised by their new relationship. So, she had gone home without a fuss, but made him promise to call her if there was an emergency.

Harvey lasted all the way until noon on Saturday.

Much of what he would normally do to keep himself busy were made impossible by his new handicap: lifting weights, running, playing video games, etc. He had called her with a frustrated sigh.

"Donna, I need more soup, bread, and pasta to make it through the week. You mind helping me out?"

"You know, I'm sure you could pay some guy at the supermarket to help you carry your items. "

"Why pay them when I have you?"

"But you're not paying me to do this. I mean, what if I have my own plans? I need to go grocery shopping too!"

"Just another reason to come along."

"But we'll be going back to your apartment, not mine. That's inconvenient. Besides, I'm not sure I could afford the supermarket you go to." Donna had to bite her lip to keep the laughter from her voice as she internally giggled at his poor attempt to cover the _real_ reason why he was calling.

After a pause, he replied, "Those are some really lame excuses."

"So are yours."

Another pause. "I'll pick you up at your apartment." He hung up before she could say anything, but she grinned in triumph and congratulated herself on her ability to speak his language. It all boiled down to: _I'm bored. Come play with me!_

They had gone food shopping and he did pick up a few soups and bread, just as he mentioned, but he also swung by the candy aisle.

"You know, I thought you were a healthier eater than this," she said as she smirked at him, but she gladly grabbed a bag of Dove Chocolates to throw into his cart.

"When you're stuck lying around watching crappy TV and old movies all day, junk food is required," he replied with a mock frown.

Even as much as he bitched and moaned about it, he still gave in to Donna's suggestion on getting frozen dinners for when he was planning on being alone, since cooking was difficult to do one-handed. It did take a rather stern glare and some choice words, but he eventually folded, yet he could keep from scowling at the stack of frozen dinners she dumped into his cart.

Donna did end up spending Saturday night with him after dinner and a make out session that he started, but he had insisted that she sleep at her own apartment on Sunday.

"Just because Jessica knows we're together doesn't mean the whole firm needs to know it right away."

"The firm will find out eventually," Donna pointed out with a worried frown.

He grabbed her hand with his right and squeezed it in comfort. "Hey, I know you're a better person than that to pay attention to Pearson Hardman's gossip queens. They've been saying we've been sleeping together for years!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Except now they'll be right!"

He snorted. "We haven't even gotten past first base yet! So if they find out tomorrow, they're still wrong."

Donna felt her mouth quirk into an amusing smile, almost of its own will. "And then rumors of your impotence will spread like wildfire through the fancy schmancy social circles and the story will go that I'm your girlfriend because I'm the only one who would take you in that state."

She couldn't keep from laughing at the look on Harvey's face as it switched from horror to alarm to amusement and then he began to chuckle along with her. "Then I could be like the modern day Horner from _The Country Wife_, and then I could actually go around sleeping with rich guys' wives and they'd never suspect me!"

"Why didn't you think of that sooner?"

"I don't know! I read that play ages ago, too. Then _all_ the women would have been available to me and not just single women," Harvey replied, sitting down on his couch with a mock sigh.

Donna sat down with him and laid her head on his good shoulder. They were sitting in a comfortable silence until she decided to break it. "I was regarding this as an unspoken rules, but I will not accept you hooking up with a catch of the day every weekend."

"Hell no! they're all empty airheads anyway. Doesn't matter how big their breasts are."

"So that's how you chose your catches," Donna replied with a roll of her eyes, but she squeezed his hand affectionately.

She was surprised when his next answer was spoken in a quiet tone: "I would never cheat on you."

"I figured you wouldn't."

There was a long moment of comfortable silence as they sat and watched whatever was on the TV. Donna could feel her head grow heavier as she relaxed against him and she only stirred when he broke the silence.

"You should probably leave before we both fall asleep on the couch."

"Yes, my work clothes are all in my apartment," Donna said, standing up and stretching before she turned to bestow Harvey with a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight." She regarded him a moment, considering on threatening to send him home if she thinks he hasn't gotten enough sleep but she stopped herself as he slowly blinked up at her in an effort to stay awake.

"Night, Donna," he replied, adjusting his body on the couch and sticking a pillow behind his back to give him more support.

~+.Suits.+~

The office was still dark and empty when Donna strode in. The winter night was only just receding, but she sat at her desk, coffee in hand, and immediately booted up her computer. She noticed some early associates and lawyers were starting to file in to start their daily grind, but she paid them little attention. She had work to do.

Harvey was coming back.

Even despite the setbacks and the pain, she finally deemed him fit enough to return for a full day. The ache was still very much present, but she had a feeling he would come in looking the most content and smug out of all the other lawyers there.

So she was surprised to see him frowning in annoyance as soon as he came into view. It softened ever so slightly upon seeing her, but the annoyance was still clearly present as he stopped by her desk to pick up his own coffee, until he remembered his free hand was carrying his briefcase and he sighed.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"I can't wear my suits well with this sling," he replied, gesturing slightly with his bad arm to emphasize and wincing as a result. "By the way, I need you to help me adjust my sling, it's too lo – "

She glanced over at him with a frown as he cut off in mid sentence, standing in the now open doorway of his office, staring at it as if he had never seen it before. Donna got up and peered into his office with him, but upon being unable to decipher what bothered him, she said, "What's wrong?"

He was the very picture of cold anger, his back and his face both rigid, which was not doing his shoulder any good. "My records are out of order." Her eyes widened and she peered at his shelf full of records and, sure enough, even she could spot the disparity in Harvey's otherwise meticulously organized collection. Not only were his records out of place, but she was pretty damn sure there was a _folder_ out of place as well. Someone had not only touched Harvey's prized possessions, but they had also gone through his desk.

"Louis," Harvey uttered the word through gritted teeth and he actually had to make the effort to inhale and exhale. "I may kill that man."

"I'll help you hide the body," Donna offered, now turning to her desk and re-evaluating whether anything she normally used was out of place. Nothing. So Louis had more sense than to touch her belongings but it still would not save him from their combined wrath. Sure he and Harvey sniped at each other and Louis could not keep from cheating on his cases by printing out his competition's internal documents, but invading Harvey personal space, particularly when he was not here, was a new low even for him.

Donna watched Harvey sucked in a breath again, unconsciously smooth out his suit, and then he walked into his office with his standard stony mask, creased only slightly in the corners by the new ache he had incurred from being so tense. She decided to make it a little easier on him by putting his mail, all the messages that he had received over the last week, and finally his coffee on his desk. He only acknowledged her with a simple glance, but she could tell he was still seething over his violation of privacy by none other than that slimy scumbag Louis.

Justice would be had.

~+.Suits.+~

"Are you sure I'm not going to get in trouble for doing this?"

"You work for me. You're supposed to do whatever I tell you."

"I think breaking and entering is an exception to the rule."

"No one has to know you participated."

"Oh yeah, because you could do something like this single-handedly. Literally."

"I've got Donna."

"Oh, so you're going to get her in trouble!"

"I can't get in trouble, Mike. Besides, I'm certainly not staying if Harvey gets fired over this."

"Jessica will understand."

"Did you tell her what you were doing?"

"No! That would completely ruin the element of surprise."

"This just sounds better and better. We're all going to get fired because of a stupid office prank!"

"Oh, stop whining. If Jessica didn't fire Louis when he used her name to bribe a witness – that failed, if I remind you – she's not going to fire us over this."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Mike, if you guys get fired over this, Harvey will cover your bills until you get a new job."

"I never agreed to that!"

"Oh yes you will, Harvey."

"Fine. But you're not going to get fired over this."

The elevator doors finally opened on the firm's floor and Harvey immediately stepped out and turned to head down the main hall where all the junior and senior partner offices branched out. Donna and Mike trailed behind him. She was cool and collected as ever, but the associate kept glancing around the office, expecting to see late-working associates to rise up behind the cubicles and catch them doing…well, they weren't doing anything yet. He may have been a poor criminal, but he had never done anything so obvious as deliberately targeting a person who they were known rivals against. But, to Mike's surprise, Harvey appeared wholly intent on getting back at Louis for this offense.

"Do you know how to pick a lock?"

"Nope," Harvey said, but then he stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and then pulled out a key. "I don't need it."

"Where'd you get that?"

"I have my ways," Donna replied and that immediately made Mike's mouth shut with a 'snap' and he turned pale. She only smiled at him.

"Mike, get the cartons that are in my office."

"Aren't those full of files?"

Harvey gave him an exasperated look. "No. Go get them." When Mike finally departed, but Harvey followed him until he shook his head and muttered loud enough for Donna to hear, "I don't know how that kid _ever_ made it as a criminal."

"He's too innocent to be a criminal. He could easily bluff his way out of court with that naïve soft act," Donna said back, also watching where Mike had disappeared down the hall with a fond smile.

"All right. Let's do what we came to do," Harvey said. He grunted in pain slightly as he jostled his bad arm to get the door open. But then he smirked and stepped in, sneering at the pictures of the rat-faced lawyer behind his desk.

"God, this office is so creepy," Donna said, shivering as she looked at the pictures.

Mike chose that moment to arrive and Harvey nodded at him and said, "Let's get to work."

~+.Suits.+~

The work day started as normal. The usual sound of office calls and people talking in low tones were all that could be heard, but not fifteen minutes into the day it was completely destroyed:

"HARVEY!"

Louis stormed down the hall like a hurricane coming onto shore. Associates, lawyers, and secretaries alike all hugged the wall to avoid him bowling them over as he carved a path to Donna's desk. She didn't give him more than a passing glance, but she spoke loud enough for Harvey to hear over the speaker: "Here he comes. You whipped her majesty up into a nice rage."

"I imagine so." She turned back to see Harvey drop the contract he was reading and button his thousand dollar jacket and walk over to step outside, just as Louis reached his office. "What's got your panties in a wad?"

Louis barely stopped short of running into Harvey, but he glared up at the younger man with fervor that came close to equaling Donna at her angriest. Almost.

"Cut the bullshit, Harvey! I know you stole everything in my office. Now, give it all back and I may not throw a lawsuit at your ass for breaking and entering and property theft!"

Harvey cocked his head. "Breaking and entering? You mean, much like how you broke and entered my office last week while I was on leave."

This seemed to stop Louis clean in his tracks and stiffened. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then finally said, "That is a completely separate issue – "

"It is the _core_ of this issue, Louis," Harvey replied in a dangerous voice.

"Your office was unlocked."

"That doesn't matter, Louis! You came into my office and, not only did you touch my records, but you searched through _my desk! _Where the hell do you think you are that you can get away with that and not get a reaction?"

They were starting to get an audience which happened to include Jessica. Though Harvey appeared to have no eyes for anyone, Donna could see the alarmed looks on people's face as he described Louis' offense.

"Don't you _ever_ enter my office without my permission again or I will do worse than steal everything you own! Maybe I'll ruin whatever passes as your career so that no law firm with any respect would ever consider hiring you again. Just think on that, Louis."

They both finally acknowledged the crowd that had gathered around them. Jessica gave a pointed look at the bystanders and they immediately dispersed on their original business, but when she turned back to them she held both of their gazes and said, "Both of you, my office now."

Donna watched them go and she was a little surprised when only Jessica turned to look back at her; the secretary returned a look of her own and hoped the message reached her: _Be fair_.

A few minutes later, Mike chose that moment to show up for work. "Hey, Donna, where's Harvey?"

"Where do you think he is?" Donna asked with a wry tone.

Mike turned to the office and then looked in the direction of Louis' and raised his eyebrows.

"Jessica's got them."

"Ah hmm…of course."

"Relax. He and Louis are still going to have jobs when they come out. Consider it more as a chiding."

"Great. I'll be working on my pro bono until Harvey comes back," Mike said, but he said with a resigned tone as if he didn't believe for a second that there wouldn't be hell to pay.

She saw Harvey coming down the hall just five minutes later and while he had no victorious smirk, she could tell he was pleased and he actually nodded at her as he came to her desk.

"Mommy give you a slap on the wrist?"

"Something like that," he replied with a smirk. "Pro bono for two weeks."

"That is pretty light."

"She was still ripping into Louis when she dismissed me."

Donna nodded. "That sort of violation of privacy – and in a law firm – is pretty serious."

"I still think he's going to be employed here."

"Well, he may very well have just been neutered."

"That would be a gift to the world," Harvey replied even as he winced in sympathy.

"Well, go find the puppy. He seems to think that his career is in danger."

Harvey sighed and rolled his eyes, but Donna gave him a pointed look. "Fine, I will. But only because you want me to."

"I don't know which would sound worse for your reputation: that you are at the whim of your secretary or that you care."

"How about both?" Harvey replied and he shook his head, the picture of a man resigned to his fate.

**The End**


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